6^^ 


GIFT   OF 
Dr.    C.   A.    Kofoid 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


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Around  South  America 
With  a  Sample  Case 


BY 
J.  FRANK  LANNING 


Richmond,  Va. 

Williams  Printing  Co. 

publishers 


PRESERVATION 

COPY  Aooeo 

ORK3INALTOBE 
RETAINED 


JAN  2  1  1993 


l2> 


Copyright    1920 

BY 

J.  Frank  Lanning 


>•   1  o  ♦  » 


AROUND   SOITIT    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 


INTRODUCTION. 

Two  days  out  from  New  York,  on  a  Ward  Line 
Steamer,  bound  for  Havana,  some  years  ago,  one 
of  the  lady  passengers  came  to  me  and  said:  "This 
is  my  first  ocean  trip  and  I  am  looking  for  'thrills.' 
Will  I  have  any  before  getting  back  home,  do  you 
think?"  Being  anxious  to  please  the  ladies  at  all 
times  I  promised  to  see  what  could  be  done  for 
her.  Ten  days  later  I  helped  her  escape  from  a 
wrecked  ship  in  the  midst  of  a  stormy  sea,  and  she 
seemed  to  think  the  effort  overdone. 

I  left  New  York  hoping  for  adventures  worth 
telling  about  and  got  crowded  a  bit.  There  was 
a  prospect  of  going  to  the  summit  of  the  Corderil- 
los,  but  not  coming  down  in  a  hand  car.  A  bit  of 
roug'h  weather  was  certain  but  did  not  count  on 
bucking  the  greatest  storm  ever  experienced  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  and  that  too  in  a  ship  of  only  one 
thousand  tons  register.  It  was  also  necessary  for 
me  to  get  on  intimate  terms  with  cattle  and  sheep 
in  order  to  secure  data  on  these  important  South 
American  industries,  but  I  surely  got  a  jolt  when  in- 
formed I  had  become  infected  with  anthrax.  On 
more  than  one  occasion  friends  have  called  me  a 
"blooming  goat,"  but  did  not  consider  myself  close 
enough  akin  to  the  Animal  Kingdom  to  get  their 
disease.  Coming  safely  through  these  events  add 
interest  to  the  story,  which  is  dedicated  to  the 
dear   friends   whose   good   wishes   went   with   me, 


M31825 


8         AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

and  the  equally  dear  friends  who  gathered  about 
me  at  every  stage  of  the  journey,  always  ready  to 
turn  aside  from  their  personal  affairs  to  render 
helpful  service,  chief  among  whom  is  the  wonder- 
ful woman  whose  self-sacrificing  devotion  saved 
me  from  death,  and  nursed  me  back  to  health.  And 
if  these,  my  friends,  read  this  book  with  half  the 
pleasure  felt  in  writing  it  for  them,  my  labor  of 
love  will  be  repaid. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE         9 


3->         •>  >     » 


Around  South  America  With  a 
Sample  Case 


OFF  FOR  PANAMA. 

CHAPTER  I. 

"Life,  how  much  more 

Shall  thy  tides  compel  me 

From  the  calm  shore? 

Down  the  far  ways  of  the  winds 

And  the  deeps  impell  me? 

I  hear  thy  song, 

Not  as  landsmen  sing  it! 

Mine  be  the  long 

Roll  of  sea-drums,  and  the  song 

As  the  thunders  sing  it." 

A  day  like  a  day  in  June,  a  farewell  lunch  at 
White's  with  Mr.  Foster ;  his  good  company  to  the 
dock,  and,  later  another  party  of  dear  friends 
reached  the  pier  to  bid  me  a  tender  farewell,  the 
memory  of  which  will  linger  until  they  welcome  me 
on  my  return.  We  cast  off  at  six  o'clock  and  head- 
ed down  the  bay,  bidding  good-bye  to  the  familiar 
landmarks  along  the  way.  As  the  twilight  came 
on  the  city's  fantastic  skyline  was  draped  in  a 
filmy  sheen  of  palest  pink  and  purple,  and  made  of 
it  a  thing  of  beauty, 


10      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

We  passed  close 'by  the  Statue  of  Liberty  and  it 
^ieve,r  n\c<in.t .  so  much  to  me  before,  although  I 
have  sailed  past  it  many  times,  but  tonight  it  seem- 
ed to  radiate  the  spirit  of  freedom »  and,  to  judge 
from  recent  results,  it  must  have  had  the  same  ef- 
fect on  the  boys,  who,  in  passing  it  en  route  for 
France,  pledged  their  precious  lives  to  maintain 
forever  that  for  which  it  stands,  and  right  royally 
did  they  redeem  their  pledge ;  bless  their  gallant 
hearts !  It  was  nearly  dark  when  we  passed  the 
Narrows,  and  soon  the  light  on  the  "highland" 
sent  out  its  friendly  signal  to  warn  and  to  wel- 
come. A  few  hours  later  the  glare  of  Atlantic  City's 
board-walk  illumination  lit  up  the  sky  with  a 
cheerful  glow.  There  will  be  weeks  and  months 
of  sunshine  and  storm  and  strange  adventures  for 
me  before  these  familiar  lights  gladden  my  ey«'"s 
again,  as  I  am  booked  for  a  long  journey,  and  will 
visit  lands  where  the  mysteries  of  past  ages  still 
linger  with  clearer  imprint  than  elsewhere  in  the 
western  world. 

The  second  night  out  Captain  Hudgins  invited 
me  to  his  cabin  where  I  met  his  charming  wife, 
and,  together,  they  made  the  balance  of  the  vovage 
all  too  short.  Captain  Hudgins  has  had  a  most  in- 
teresting career,  and  I  was  able  to  induce  him  to 
tell  me  some  of  his  experiences.  In  exchanging 
reminiscenes  of  the  sea,  I  learned  he  was  second 
officer  on  the  '*Dom  Pedro  11"  out  of  Baltimore, 
and  she  was  in  the  harbor  of  Rio  when  I  sailed 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE  CASE      11 

from  there  on  the  Old  Hartford  so  long  ago  that 
neither  of  us  cared  to  count  the  years.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  know  Captain  Hudgins  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  commanding  the  first  ship  that  passed 
through  the  Panama  Canal  when  it  was  opened. 
When  war  was  declared,  he  promptly  applied  for 
a  naval  berth  for  which  he  was  so  well  fitted,  but 
got  the  same  answer  from  the  Navy  Department 
that  shattered  my  hopes,  but  he  could  not  be 
side-tracked,  and,  by  heroic  effort,  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  commission  as  captain  in  the  Engineer 
Corps,  where  he  rendered  very  valuable  service 
until  the  armistice  was  signed.  A  chap  like  this 
is  well  worth  knowing,  and  he  won  my  admiration 
by  his  modesty  and  efficiency.  His  accuracy  in 
navigation  was  positively  uncanny.  I  was  in  his 
cabin  the  third  night  out  and  telling  him  of  a  clever 
piece  of  navig-ation  by  Captain  Foss  of  the  N.  Y. 
&  P.  R.  Liner  ''Brazos"  last  year  when  she  picked 
up  the  distress  call  from  the  ''Iroquois."  The  help- 
less craft  was  186  miles  distant  when  the  call  came, 
and  when  we  laid  our  course  for  her  Captain  Foss 
told  me  we  would  "pick  her  up"  at  four  bells  in  the 
mid  watch  (2  A.  M.)  There  was  a  thick  haze  over 
the  western  sky  line  when  I  joined  the  lookout  at 
1 :30,  but  in  ten  minutes  we  saw  the  "Iroquois" 
lights  almost  ahead.  Just  as  four  bells  struck, 
the  engines  on  the  "Brazos"  stopped  and  the  ships 
were  within  three  hundred  yards  of  each  other. 
When   I   finished  the   story   Captain   Hudgins   said 


12      AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

"Yes ;  one  can  be  rather  accurate  in  these  calcula- 
tions ;  as,  for  instance,  we  will  pick  up  Wattling 
Island  light  two  points  off  the  starboard  bow  in 
five  minutes."  I  was  anxious  to  verify  this  claim 
from  the  bridge,  but  Mrs.  Hudgins  had  taken  up 
the  conversation  so  I  remained  seated.  In  precise- 
ly four  and  one-half  minutes  the  officer  in  charge 
of  ;the  bridge  came  to  the  cabin  and  reported 
Wattling  Island  Light,  giving  the  direction  in  de- 
grees. I  expected  to  note  a  well-satisfied  expres- 
sion on  the  captain's  countenance,  but  he  seemed 
a  bit  disgruntled  because  he  had  missed  the  time 
by  one-half  minute,  and  the  direction  by  one  sixty- 
fourth  of  a  degree.  This  same  performance  was 
pulled  off  the  next  night.  The  captain  and  I  were 
on  the  bridge,  and,  taking  out  his  watch  he  said, 
'*we  will  see  Cassoway  light  in  eight  minutes."  In 
exactly  eight  minutes  the  lookout  reported  a  light 
but  it  was  at  least  two  points  off.  The  captain 
remained  quiet  and  I  fancied  him  seeking  in  his 
mind  to  locate  the  current  that  had  carried  him  even 
so  little  out  of  his  course.  Just  then  another  light 
was  reported;  this  time  in  the  right  direction,  and 
it  proved  to  be  Cassoway,  and  the  other  a  freighter 
homeward  bound.  So  I  lift  my  seaman's  cap  to  the 
Master. 

The  next  day  we  passed  in  sight  of  Nipi  Bay 
and  the  purple  mountains  of  Cuba  Orienti.  Here 
we  changed  our  course  and  headed  for  Colon,  with 
the  blue  waters  of  the  Caribbean  before  us.     Un- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE      13 

fortunately  a  dense  haze  overcast  the  sky,  so  we 
were  denied  a  view  of  Hayti  and  San  Domingo, 
which,  otherwise,  would  have  loomed  high  within 
our  vision.  No  land  was  sighted  until  Sunday  at 
noon,  43ut  then  the  mountains  of  Columbia  begun 
to  separate  from  the  low-lying  clouds  and  gradual- 
ly shaped  themselves  into  a  massive  range. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  clouds  lift- 
ed and  Cape  Manzanillo  thrust  its  splendid  front 
into  the  blue  waters  and  the  cluster  of  houses  mark- 
ing the  town  of  Porto  Bello  was  plainly  seen.  Im- 
mediately visions  of  Bluebeard,  Blackbeard,  Mor- 
gan, Drake  and  all  the  buccaneers  came  into  the 
mental  vision  for  this  was  the  one  spot  where  they 
foregathered  and  fought  many  a  bloody  battle. 

It  was  in  one  of  the  harbors  of  the  Gulf  of 
Darien  just  around  the  corner  of  Porto  Bello  that 
Drake  made  the  first  attempt  to  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  yellow  fever,  for  it  was  here  he  ordered  his 
only  brother's  body  dissected,  and  stood  by  whilst 
it  was  done,  in  order  to  discover  the  cause  of  the 
mysterious  death  that  had  taken  so  heavy  a  toll 
from  his  ranks.  The  gruesome  task  was  in  vain, 
and  the  yellow  scourge  continued  its  ravages  tor 
centuries,  but  is  now  almost  a  thing  of  the  past, 
thanks  to  Victor  Blue  and  his  brave  companions 
who  risked  their  lives  but  not  in  vain  for  they 
scotched  the  yellow  jack  when  the  mosquito  was 
found  to  be  the  sinner  that  had  brought  so  much 
suffering  and  death  to  the  world. 


14      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

It  was  just  off  this  port  Drake  made  his  last 
fig-ht.  Sir  Frederick  Treves  tells  us  "In  seven  days 
after  leaving-  the  Island  of  Nombre  de  Dios  the 
fleet  anchored  off  Porto  Bello.  It  was  the  morn- 
ing of  January  28th,  1596,  Drake  had  long  sunk 
into  a  state  of  semi-consciousness.  At  the  dawn  of 
this  day  something  roused  him.  It  may  have  been 
the  tramp  of  men  overhead  shortening  sail, 
or  the  rattle  of  the  chain  in  the  hawser  pipe  as 
the  anchor  was  dropped.  He  raised  himself  in 
the  cot,  a  shrunken  ghost  of  a  man,  and  then  it 
would  seem  that  there  came  upon  him  for  the  first 
time  the  knowledge  that  he  was  dying. 

But  die  he  would  not !  He  had  fought  every  foe 
under  the  canopy  of  heaven.  He  would  fight  death 
too.  He  sat  up;  he  called  for  his  clothes,  he 
railed ;  and  mocked  at  the  coming  shadow.  His 
trembling  servant  dressed  him,  sighing  to  note  the 
once  great  wrists  turned  to  the  wrists  of  a  child 
and  the  sturdy  limbs  shrivelled  to  nothing  more 
than  bones.  The  master  would  put  on  his  best 
tunic,  his  lace  collar,  his  shoulder  ribbons  and  his 
last  new  sword  belt.  He  would  now  walk  out  upon 
the  quarter-deck  to  show  his  crew  that  Francis 
Drake  was  ready  to  lead  them  still.  One  step  and 
it  was  his  last.  He  was  lifted  back  to  his  bed,  and 
there,  clad  as  he  would  have  been  on  the  eve  of  a 
battle,  the  great  sea  captain  died. 

He  was  buried  a  league  out  at  sea,  and  on  either 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      15 

side  of  him  were  sunk  one  of  his  own  ships  and 
the  last  Spanish  prize  he  had  taken. 

It  was  just  such  a  resting-place  as  his  heart 
would  desire  and  in  just  such  company  would  he 
wish  to  be.  Landwards  stretches  the  scene  of  his 
early  exploits,  for  Porto  Bello  lies  here  open  to  the 
tides,  while  round  the  cape  is  the  haven  of  Nom- 
bre  de  Dios,  and  the  beauty  of  the  spot  is  unsur- 
passed. It  is  endless  summer  here.  The  hills  that 
creep  down  to  the  beach  are  as  green  as  the  hills 
of  Devon.  The  sea  is  an  iris-blue,  and  when  the 
wind  is  still  there  is  never  a  sound  to  be  heard  but 
that  of  surf  breaking  on  the  reefs.  The  great 
warrior  may  rest  quietly  when  the  sea  is  calm 
but  when  a  storm  sweeps  over  his  resting  place 
his  spirit  must  awaken  for  he  was  happy  only  when 
in  the  midst  of  storm  and  strife. 

We  were  almost  at  the  breakwater  when  I  pull- 
ed myself  back  to  the  present  day  and  in  a  few 
minutes  the  port  officers  came  on  board.  Every- 
one^ was  herded  in  the  cabin  for  quarantme  inspec- 
tion, and,  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  my  name 
was  at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  which  resulted  in 
being  kept  a  prisoner  until  we  were  alongside  the 
dock.  This  prevented  me  from  seeing  the  approach 
to  the  great  breakwater  that  had  caused  the 
government  so  much  trouble  and  expense.  The 
customs  passed  us  quickly,  and  a  regular  "down 
home  darky"  loaded  me  into  his  still  more  "down 
home"  outfit  and  carried  me  to  the  Washington 


16      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

Hotel.  The  whole  outfit  was  a  duplicate  of  Old 
George's  rig  at  Chase  City,  which  I  used  to  patro- 
nize twenty-five  years  ago,  but  thank  Heaven  the 
hotel  was  not  a  relic  of  ancient  days.  If  anything, 
it  was  extraordinary  in  its  equipment,  even  for 
these  modern  days.  After  dinner  I  left  the  hotel 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery  and  soon  found  myself 
in  what  proved  to  be  the  native  quarter  of  Colon. 
I  had  not  gone  far  before  my  attention  was  drawn 
to  what  was  unmistakably  a  Salvation  Army  meet- 
ing. Following  the  lead,  I  was  soon  outside  the 
Barracks.  Just  as  I  reached  the  door  I  heard  the 
preacher  say,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life. 
He  that  believeth  on  me  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live  again."  I  have  heard  great  preachers 
give  out  this  text  but  never  have  I  known  them  to 
carry  such  power  and  conviction.  He  repeated 
the  text  and  then  preached  a  sermon  that  for  pure 
religious  fervor  has  seldom,  if  ever,  been  equalled 
in  my  hearing.  He  was  evidently  a  Jamaican 
negro,  for  his  voice  was  musical  and  his  spoken 
words  even  more  so.  He  made  no  effort  to  play 
upon  the  emotions  of  his  hearers ;  although  they 
were  all  negroes  except  myself,  but  talked  to  them 
in  well-chosen  language,  telling  them  about  the 
Christ,  and  through  Him  the  hope  for  peace  in 
their  hearts  here  and  hereafter,  life  eternal.  There 
was  no  likeness  between  this  service  and  a  like 
meeting  in  our  Southland.  It  was  only  when  the 
sermon  was  ended  and  a  song  begun  that  charac- 


AROUND  SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      17 

teristics  of  the  race  were  in  evidence.  Then  the 
wild  cadence  of  the  black  man's  music  rang  true, 
and  for  a  moment  I  imagined  myself  in  Georgia 
instead  of  on  the  Canal  Zone.  I  left  them  chanting 
''Over  the  Line"  and  had  gone  but  a  short  distance 
when  the  weird  music  of  the  African  "Tom-Tom" 
literally  throbbed  in  my  ears.  I  could  scarcely  be- 
lieve I  had  heard  aright,  but  only  walked  a  short 
distance  when  I  came  upon  a  group  that  seemed 
strangely  savage.  Had  it  been  the  moon  instead 
of  an  arc  lamp  lighting  the  scene  it  would  have 
been  a  picture  of  the  upper  Congo.  Seated  on 
boxes  were  two  coal  black  men  making  the  drums 
tell  of  witches  and  voo-doo,  making  an  anthem 
well  calculated  to  inspire  the  ring  of  hearers  group- 
ed around  them  with  visions  of  days  when  music 
like  this  preceeded  the  feast  furnished  by  dead 
foes.  In  a  moment  a  man  and  woman  stepped  into 
the  circle  and  executed  the  weirdest  dance  I  have 
ever  witnessed.  Within  an  hour  I  had  seen  the 
savage  rights  of  a  primitive  people  and  a  service 
of  true  worship,  and  that  by  the  same  race  of  peo- 
ple. If  it  were  not  for  the  modern  romance  of  the 
canal  and  the  old  romance  of  the  bucaneers.  Colon 
and  vicinity  would  be  a  most  uninteresting  place, 
but  when  one  remembers  that  some  of  the  wildest 
scenes  of  piracy  and  bloodshed  ever  enacted  were 
pulled  off  in  these  waters,  then  mountains  ?.nd  in- 
lets become  alive  with  epics  of  other  days.  Days 
when  Drake  and  Morgan  harried  every  settlement 


18      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

along  the  coast,  levying  tribute  from  both  priest 
and  publican,  and  decorating  nearby  trees  with 
victims  of  their  murderous  lust  when  the  loot  fell 
short  of  the  expectations. 

There  was  nothing  here  in  the  way  of  business, 
so  last  evening  I  left  Colon  by  rail  and  came  over 
to  Panama.  Today  I  visited  the  plant  of  the  Canal 
Zone  at  Balboa,  and  have  seen  what  is  perhaps  the 
most  complete  machine  shop  on  earth.  It  is  a 
revelation  to  anyone  who  know^s  the  value  of  com- 
plete equipment.  The  officials  extended  every 
courtesy,  and  indicated  the  possibility  of  great 
trade  in  case  we  can  get  started  with  our  products, 
for  much  belt  and  babbitt  metal  is  used  here  yearly. 
Returning  to  Panama  I  learned  that  our  chances, 
of  doing  business  Avith  the  Panamanians,  for  the 
time  being  at  least,  is  absolutely  nil,  owing  to  the 
stupid  blunder  of  our  commanding  officer  on  the 
Zone.  He  issued  his  famous  order  No.  26  forbid- 
ding officers  and  men  of  the  army  and  navy  from 
leaving  the  Zone  and,  in  support  of  this  un- 
holy order,  wrote  the  authorities  at  Washington 
saying  that  official  investigation  of  the  women 
found  on  Avenida  Central  (the  main  street  in 
Panama)  showed  that  ninety-seven  per  cent  were 
immoral.  All  of  w^hich,  according  to  a  letter  over 
the  signature  of  the  Governor  of  Panama  in  this 
morning's  paper,  was  published  in  the  Congress- 
ional Record  in  all  its  brutal  untruth.  I  sent  the 
paper  w^ith  a  letter  to  Mr.  John  Barrett  asking  him 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE      19 

to  do  his  best  to  let  the  people  of  America  know 
that  General  Blatchford's  statement  was  both  false 
and  silly.  Just  at  this  time,  and  I  fear  for  bome 
time  to  come,  an  American  could  not  sell  gold  dol- 
lars for  fifty  cents  to  these  people  ;  and  if  this  sort 
of  thing  should  occur  often  we  who  hope  to  open 
up  the  Latin  American  trade  to  our  country  will 
simply  waste  our  time  and  money.  General  Blatch- 
ford  has  been  ordered  home,  and  I  hope  the  War 
Department  send  him  to  Wolfville,  Ariz.  Incident- 
ly,  it  would  please  me  to  hear  him  make  a  like  state- 
ment about  the  ladies  of  the  aforesaid  town.  En- 
right  and  Doc.  Peets  would  see  that  due  respect 
was  paid  to  the  dead  out  there,  but  when  the  news 
reached  Panama  there  would  be  no  flags  at  half- 
mast.  I  have  now  been  here  several  days,  and  have 
spent  much  time,  both  day  and  night  on  the  street. 
I  found  absolutely  no  serious  evidence  of  lewd- 
ness. In  fact,  compared  with  upper  Broadway, 
New  York,  and  Market  Street,  Philadelphia,  Aven- 
ida  Central  presented  a  modest  face. 

I  left  the  Tivola  immediately  after  dinner  last 
night,  and  walked  to  the  Plaza  Independencia  and 
back.  The  street  was  thronged  with  people  of 
every  class,  and  I  walked  slowly  with  eyes  open 
for  any  irregularity,  but  the  only  infraction  of  the 
moral  law  seen  throughout  the  trip  was  seventeen 
lottery  venders  within  one  short  city  block,  but 
they  did  not  seem  to  be  spreading  calamity  very 
rapidly,  for  I  stood  and  eyed  the  bunch  for  ten  full 


20      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

minutes  and  did  not  see  a  sale  made.  So  I  am 
inclined  to  think  General  Blatchford  sees  things 
within  rather  than  without,  for,  verily,  ''as  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart  so  is  he,"  according  to  Holy 
writ. 

I  am  tempted  to  write  something  about  this 
beautiful  place,  but  the  subject  has  been  exhausted 
by  abler  pens  and  I  shall  limit  myself  to  the  state- 
ment that  Panama,  Ancon  and  Balboa  represent 
perfect  cleanliness  and  order.  A  party  of  us  drove 
out  to  see  the  ruins  of  Old  Panama  and  I  have  never 
looked  upon  ruins  marking  greater  desolation. 
This  is  perhaps  more  oppressive  because  we  read 
that  once  this  same  city  rivaled  Venice  in  her 
splendor,  and  the  slave  market  equalled  that  of 
Rome  in  the  days  of  the  Caesars.  There  is  massive 
masonry  everywhere  and  the  old  avenues  can  still 
be  traced,  but  none  of  this  masonry  has  definite 
form  except  the  square  tower  of  the  cathedral.  This 
successfully  withstood  the  destructive  onslaught  of 
Morgan's  men  and  the  centuries  have  not  loosened 
a  brick  since  that  event.  It  was  here  Pizarro  made 
his  vows  to  the  Virgin  on  his  way  to  conquer  Peru 
and  Morgan  outraged  the  bishop  by  stealing  his 
sword  of  state,  leaving  in  its  place  his  battered 
blood-stained  weapon,  which  was  presented  to  Col. 
Shanton  by  the  city  of  Panama  as  a  token  of  their 
appreciation  of  his  work  during  the  construction  of 
the  canal. 

It  is  difficult  to  think  of  old  Panama  as  a  one- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH    A   SAMPLE   CASE      21 

time  harbor  filled  with  gold  ladened  galleons,  for 
today  it  presents  a  scene  of  utter  desolation  with 
not  even  a  bark  canoe  to  disturb  its  surface.  The 
only  visible  sign  of  life  was  a  lone  pelican,  and  he 
was  winging  his  way  up  coast  making  all  speed 
that  could  be  gotten  out  of  his  lumbering  flight. 

I  returned  to  my  hotel  with  a  sense  of  mental 
depression  difficult  to  explain  unless  it  was  that 
death  still  broods  over  the  lonely  place  where  such 
awful  deeds  were  done. 

A  perfect  deluge  of  rain  almost  flooded  the  place 
when  we  left  Panama  for  Colon,  and  a  less  attrac- 
tive fifty  miles  of  railroad  does  not  exist  on  earth. 
The  entire  distance  is  one  stretch  of  desolation 
which  culminates  in  the  utter  ghastlinesss  of  Gatun 
Lake.  Here  trees  were  left  standing  when  the  back 
waters  covered  the  land.  They  are  now  ghostly 
white  surrounded  by  black  waters,  in  which  one 
would  expect  to  find  all  the  vile  things  which  in- 
habit the  deep.  The  trip  was  bad  enough  when 
made  in  a  well-equipped  railroad  coach,  but  fancy 
having  to  plod  through  the  red"  clay  mire  with 
poisonous  snakes  underfoot  and  disease-infested 
mosquitoes  all  about  as  the  forty-niners  did.  Or 
go  back  to  the  old  gold  road  days  when  guarded 
pack  trains  started  on  their  perilous  journey  from 
Panama  to  Nombre  de  Dios.  These  caravans  were 
beset  by  all  these  evil  forces  of  nature  with  a  band 
of  murderous  Indians  or  still  more  blood-thirsty 
pirates  thrown  in  as  a  side  issue.     Surely  nothing 


22      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

short  of  this  lure  of  gold  could  ever  induce  men  to 
face  such  suffering  and  danger.  Treves  speaks  of 
this  famous  gold  road  as  follows : 

'Tt  was  a  precious  burden  these  mule  trains  bore. 
It  was  the  harvest  of  robbery  and  murder,  the 
sheaves  reaped  by  treachery  and  torture,  a  devil's 
crop.  Every  grain  of  gold  came  from  a  crucible 
whose  furnace  was  fed  with  human  lives.  Every 
load  bore  some  contribution  from  wretches  who 
had  been  either  worked  to  death  or  beaten  to  death. 
It  was  an  argosy  of  cruelty  and  greed.  Costly  as 
it  was,  none  seem  to  have  been  made  the  richer  by 
all  the  w^ealth  that  came  by  this  pitiless  way." 

Thanks  to  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Grubbs,  a  dis- 
patcher in  the  office  of  the  captain  of  the  port, 
I  was  able  to  visit  the  Gatun  locks  under  most 
favorable  conditions.  He  called  for  me  at  the  hotel, 
and  I  had  dinner  at  his  home  where  I  met  his 
charming  wife  and  kiddie.  We  returned  to  the 
hotel  at  two  o'clock  where  w^e  were  joined  by  Mr. 
Barnum,  chief  engineer  of  the  Carib  Syndicate. 
The  port  captain's  launch  was  at  our  disposal 
and  we  were  soon  plowing  our  way  through  the 
water  of  the  lower  bay,  reaching  the  canal  en- 
trance in  twenty-five  minutes.  Overhead,  sea- 
planes were  circling  and  sailing,  and  making  my 
heart  sick  with  a  desire  to  be  in  one  of  them.  Mr. 
Grubbs,  being  one  of  the  force,  insured  every 
courtesy  from  the  lock  officials,  and  the  workings 
of  the  mighty  elevator  Avere  shown  and  explained 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      23 

in  detail.  First  we  walked  for  nearly  a  mile 
through  a  tunnel  running  the  full  length  of  the 
locks,  and  were  permitted  to  see  the  mechanism  of 
the  system.  There  were  enormous  pistons  control- 
ling the  machinery,  and  baffle  chains  with  links 
strong  enough  to  almost  lift  a  ship.  Giant  valves, 
monster  geared  wheels  and  ponderous  arms  of  steel 
which  opened  and  shut  the  still  more  ponderous 
gates.  Seen  in  detail,  it  represents  one  of  the 
greatest  engineering  feats  of  the  age.  However 
elaborate  the  description  might  be  it  would  fail 
to  convey  an  idea  of  its  immensity.  Leaving  the 
tunnel  we  climbed  the  winding  stairway  to  the 
upper  room  in  the  lock  house.  There  we  saw,  in 
miniature,  all  we  had  seen  below.  In  fact  the  en- 
tire system  is  there  in  minute  detail.  A  ship  was 
passing  through  at  the  time,  and  we  watched  the 
operator  move  an  insignificant  little  brass  handle. 
The  tiny  gates  in  the  model  began  to  slowly  shut. 
When  the  joint  was  tight  another  handle  was  shift- 
ed and  we  could  hear  the  rush  of  waters  passing 
out,  and  see  it  fall,  carrying  the  ship  to  the  level 
below.  Again  the  baby  gates  slowly  opened  and 
the  ship  was  taken  in  tow  by  electric  motors  and 
carried  into  the  second  lock.  Once  more  the 
gates  close,  again  the  rush  of  waters  is  heard,  and 
the  third  drop  carries  the  ship  to  sea  level.  The 
lake  level  is  eighty-five  feet  above,  but  small  ves- 
sels are  let  down  or  carried  up  in  thirty  seven  minu- 
tes.    Large  ships  are  handled  in  an  hour. 


24      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

We  watched  four  ships  pass  through  and  then 
walked  over  to  the  ''spillway."  Here  we  were  able, 
in  a  measure,  to  mentally  grasp  the  magnitude  of 
the  work.  The  actual  dam  is  nearly  two  miles  long, 
and  eighty-five  feet  high.  The  fourteen-gate  spill- 
way is  about  half  way  between  the  canal  and  hill- 
side, at  the  far  end.  The  hydro-electric  plant  is 
located  in  the  gorge  below  the  spillway  developing 
13,500  H.  P.  Concrete  bases  for  two  more  4500 
H.  P.  dynamos  are  about  complete.  When  these 
are  installed  they  can  meet  the  demand  for  light 
and  power  for  years  to  come.  I  looked  longingly 
at  the  sweep  of  concrete,  with  the  steel  and  con- 
crete bafflers  at  the  base.  The  lock  superintendent 
told  me  the  water  w^as  extremely  low  in  the 
lake,  and  he  did  not  think  I  could  get  a  gate  open- 
ed, but  I  assumed  a  pathetic  expression,  and,  in  a 
voice  equally  pathetic,  expressed  my  regret  that  I 
could  not  see  the  results  of  an  overflow.  Evident- 
ly the  engineer  was  a  good  Indian  and  had  a  kind 
heart,  for  he  excused  himself,  saying  he  w^ould  call 
up  the  hydrographic  office  and  ask  permission  to 
open  one  of  the  gates.  In  a  few  minutes  he  re- 
turned saying,  ''Get  up  on  top  and  see  the  show.'' 
We  lost  no  time  getting  on  top,  and  as  we  reach- 
ed the  bridge  the  deluge  started.  The  slope  is  beau- 
tifully curved,  and  at  first  it  presented  an  attrac- 
tive "shoot  the  chute"  proposition  with  its  smooth 
surface,  but  as  the  volume  increased  and  swept 
down  against  the  great  blocks  of  concrete,  then  did 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      25 

all  hades  break  loose.  I  always  thought  the  whirl- 
pool below  Niagara  Falls  stirred  things  up  a  bit,  but 
compared  to  the  turmoil  at  the  Gatun  spillway, 
even  with  one  gate  open,  Niagara  Falls  is  only  a 
modest  ripple  that  would  fade  into  utter  insignifi- 
cance if  all  the  gates  were  open.  There  were  times 
when  a  seemingly  solid  column  of  water  was  lift- 
ed fifty  feet  and  fell  with  a  roar  of  mighty  thunder. 
If  this  pyramid  could  be  illuminated  with  colored 
lights,  it  would  justify  a  trip  around  the  world  to 
see.  The  place  was  so  fascinating  we  did  not  start 
back  to  Colon  until  the  sun  had  gone  down,  and 
it  was  10:30  P.  M.  before  we  finished  dinner. 

Bannon  proved  to  be  a  regular  Richard  Harding 
Davis  character  and  the  dinner  hour  was  but  little 
less  fascinating  than  our  afternoon  had  been.  He 
told  us  briefly  of  a  six-hundred  mile  mule-back  trip 
across  Columbia  to  the  Pacific  coast.  On  this  trip 
he  came  across  a  tribe  of  Indians  that  had  only  heard 
tales  of  white  men,  but  had  never  seen  one.  Ban- 
non is  a  husky  guy,  and  very  presentable,  and  the 
result  was  he  nearly  lost  his  freedom  and  got  sad- 
dled with  forty  wives.  The  interpreter  told  him 
the  chief  was  anxious  to  introduce  blue  eyes  into 
his  tribe,  in  that  he  felt  sure  he  could  sell  the  chil- 
dren for  at  least  fifty  per  cent  advance  over  the 
ruling  market  quotations.  There  were  many  tra- 
gic scenes  also.  He  graphically  described  the  death 
of  one  of  their  men,  and  their  heroic  work  that  kept 
him  alive  until  they  reached  the  coast,  but  it  was 


26      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

too  late  to  save  him.  It  seemed  like  a  shame  to  go 
to  bed  when  we  had  such  a  chap  to  talk  with,  but 
even  owls  must  sleep,  so  I  bade  him  good-night  at 
one  A.  M.  Tomorrow  he  starts  back  to  the  jungle, 
and  I  begin  my  journey  to  the  land  of  Inca. 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      27 

THE  PATHWAY  OF  PIZARRO. 

CHAPTER  11. 

"How  are  you  going  down  the  coast,  P.  C.  or  E.," 
which  being  translated  means  ;  Peruvian,  Chilian  or 
English.  This  was  asked  on  all  sides  and  if  Eng- 
lish was  suggested  the  fact  was  made  plain  that 
"service  on  the  English  ships  w^as  simply  rank", 
with  statements  even  more  disturbing,  if  the  pos- 
sibility of  using  one  of  the  other  lines  was  sug- 
gested, so  I  booked  passage  on  all  three,  and  sought 
an  equation ;  but  reports  w^ere  so  conflicting  I  final- 
ly gave  it  up,  and  placed  hyself  at  the  mercy  of 
my  good  friends,  the  Panama  agencies,  and  they 
booked  me  on  the  Chilian  S.  S.  Aysen.  I  had  learn- 
ed my  lesson,  and  qmt  discussing  the  matter,  for 
had  I  told  people  I  was  sailing  on  the  Chilian  ship 
their  hands  would  have  gone  up  to  express  horror, 
and  I  would  have  been  convinced  that  roaches  four 
inches  long  w^ould  nightly  feast  on  my  silk  suit  and 
bath  slippers ;  that  fleas  the  size  of  June  bugs  fore- 
gathered under  the  sheets  for  a  nightly  campaign, 
and  that  scouts  stayed  with  the  victims  all  day  in 
order  to  locate  and  report  the  tender  sections  to 
their  companions  for  the  night  raid.  I  came  on 
board  in  fear  and  trembling,  being  born  with  an 
intuitive   hatred   for   roaches,   and  with   no   kindly 


28      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

regard  for  fleas.  Well,  we  are  two  days  out,  and 
my  suit  and  slippers  are  still  intact.  And  if  there 
is  a  flea  on  board  it  is  being  taken  care  of  on  the 
deck  below.  There  has  not  been  a  movement  made 
on  this  deck  to  indicate  the  presence  of  even  a 
fleaette. 

I  was  put  in  a  cabin  with  another  chap,  but  we 
found  the  purser  was  anxious  to  buy  a  Liberty 
Bond  (Covert  said  a  lottery  ticket)  and  by  con- 
tributing a  pound  sterling  to  that  laudable,  or 
otherwise,  end,  we  each  got  a  cabin  de  luxe.  I  have 
never  had  a  better  cabin,  nor  sailed  on  a  cleaner 
ship.  It  is  true  that  they  are  short  on  linen ;  both 
towels  and  napkins  are  being  "conserved"  until 
it  has  become  painful,  but  the  big  cabin,  "solo", 
will  more  than  offset  the  linen  shortage.  The 
limited  breakfast  bothers  me  some,  for  tough  toast, 
chemically  compounded  jam,  with  questionable 
coffee  decorated  with  milk  from  a  tin  can  does  not 
rank  very  high  in  my  estimation,  but  they  do  have 
the  decency  not  to  call  it  breakfast ;  they  announce, 
"early  coffee"  and  let  it  go  at  that.  At  11  o'clock  the 
bell  rings  for  "almuerzo"  and  this  a  Spanish  word 
we  quickly  learn  to  reverence,  especially  if  one  is 
an  early  riser,  and  the  toast  is  extra  tough.  This 
so-called  breakfast  is  really  a  substantial  lunch,  con-» 
sisting  of  soup,  fish,  the  ever  present  ^gg  and 
beans.  A  beanvine  rampant  and  a  hen  couchant 
should  be  quartered  on  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  every 
Latin   American   country,   for   these   two   products 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      29 

dominate  the  food  situation.  At  four  o'clock  tea  is 
served,  and  there  is  a  prompt  attendance  on  the 
call,  for  dinner  is  not  served  until  seven.  The  din- 
ner is  an  elaboration  of  lunch,  minus  the  eggs,  but 
usually  the  beans  are  in  evidence  in  some  form. 
Fortunately  we  have  no  wheezy  phonograph  to 
torture  us,  and,  up  to  the  present,  no  infant  prodigy 
has  sung  Tipperary.  There  are  only  a  few  Ameri- 
cans on  board,  but  two  or  three  are  rather  inter- 
esting. One  lady  who  tells  me  her  husband  is 
in  copper.  She  is  trying  to  acquire  the  art  of  smok- 
ing. It  is  an  art,  and  she  may  acquire  it.  Another 
interesting  study  is  a  little  old  fat  man  and  his 
bride  of  perhaps  a  month,  no  longer.  This  is  easily 
determined  by  the  expression  in  their  eyes.  Every- 
one knows  the  "too  good  to  be  true"  giving  place 
to  an  expression  indicating  mental  reservations 
within  this  time  limit.  The  bride  is  partial  to  rather 
short  dresses,  and  she  has  at  least  two  good  rea- 
sons for  wearing  them.  The  first  day  out  she 
showed  a  passion  for  running  up  and  down  the 
stairway  on  my  side  of  the  deck,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing doing  today  as  the  old  man  is  determined  not 
to  let  bad  men  see  a  pretty  ankle.  He  screened 
her  half  a  dozen  times,  but.  being  threatened  with 
apoplexy  the  lady  has  taken  pity  on  him  and  they 
are  both  settled  in  steamer  chairs ;  she  carefully 
covered,  although  we  are  near  the  Equator.  Alas ! 
the  selfishness  of  our  fellowman. 

We  also  have  a  little  English  woman,  whose  face 


30      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

is  like  a  wild  rose  in  its  sweetness.  She  tells  me 
her  husband  fell  at  the  Marne  and  she  is  going  out 
to  Valparaiso  to  make  another  try  at  marriage. 
She  is  carrying  the  very  breath  of  Old  England 
with  her,  and  is  sure  to  make  her  loved  one  both 
homesick  and  happy.  At  my  table  is  a  typical  Ger- 
man in  face  and  name,  but  he  is  careful  to  inform 
people  he  is  from  Pittsburgh,  and  has  been  a  citi- 
zen of  that  loyal  towm  for  the  past  twenty  years. 
He  seems  a  decent  fellow,  but  he  is  surely  handi- 
capped, for  people  at  the  table  utterly  ignore  him, 
except  Covert,  Avho  takes  every  opportunity  to  ex- 
press his  personal  opinion  of  Germans.  These  opin- 
ions are  more  or  less  picturesque,  but  absolutely 
unprintable.  What  a  penalty  he  and  his  people 
will  have  to  pay  for  their  unholy  ambition !  He 
may  be.  and  doubtless  is,  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  Unit- 
ed States,  but  wdien  he  is  near  me  I  hear  the  cry 
of  a  stricken  world.  The  "Father  forgive  them, 
for  they  know  what  they  do"  has  rung  down  the 
ages  without  leaving  much  of  an  impression,  for 
we  are  inclined  to  spit  out  curses  when  nailed  to 
the  cross. 

Anyone  seeking  rest  could  find  it  here,  for  the 
very  heart  of  the  ocean  beats  slowly,  and  even  the 
ships  seem  to  be  half  asleep.  The  Pacific  is  well 
named  so  far  as  we  have  seen  it.  Not  only  is  the 
sea  deadly  quiet,  but  deadly  dull ;  the  color  being  a 
gun-metal  shade  instead  of  the  dazzling  blue  that 
makes  the  South  Atlantic  and  Carribean  sparkling 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE      31 

sapphires  of  purest  ray,  so  beautiful  at  times,  it 
hurts  because  we  cannot  crystalize  its  beauty. 
There  was  some  hope  the  sunsets  might  be  bril- 
liant for  the  clouds  have  been  more  or  less  broken, 
giving  promise,  but  even  the  sun  seems  subdued 
like  the  ocean.  I  have  spent  some  hours  hanging 
over  the  ship's  bow  today,  but  the  only  sign  of  life 
was  a  lonely  flying  fish,  and  he  seemed  in  a  hurry 
to  get  back  home.  Late  in  the  afternoon  a  school 
of  whale  sent  their  fountains  aloft,  which  had  we 
been  a  whale  ship,  would  have  brought  the  wel- 
come "there  she  blows"  and  the  hurried  getting 
away  of  the  boats   for  the  kill. 

Last  night  the  North  Star  blinked  hazily  about 
four  degrees  above  the  horizon,  and  I  bade  it  good- 
bye, for  I  will  not  see  it  again  until  we  cross  the 
line  north-bound  from  Brazil.  But  the  Great  Bear 
with  splendid  Arcturus  are  high  in  the  heavens, 
and  will  keep  us  company  for  many  days.  Four 
times  in  my  life  I  have  watched  this  friendly  and 
familiar  constellation  drop  below  the  horizon,  and 
it  is  then  one  feels  the  remoteness  of  things  and 
the  distance  from  home.  We  picked  up  the  South- 
ern Cross,  and  its  brilliant  companion  Canopus  with 
its  flashing  radiance  of  many  colors,  and  these  will 
be  our  starry  companions  after  we  lose  Orion  and 
our  friends  of  the  northern  sky. 

We  reach  our  first  port  of  call  tomorrow,  and 
hope  to  get  on  shore,  if  only  for  an  hour,  for  it  is 
along  here   Pizarro  made  his  first  landing  nearly 


32      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

four  centuries  ago.  This  morning  en  route  to  the 
bathroom  I  came  across  a  ''Theda  Bara"  all  ready 
to  enact  the  role  of  Cleopatra,  and,  just  now,  a 
vision  in  diaphanous  pink  stood  for  a  brief  moment 
between  me  and  the  boundless  sea  (I  most  spell- 
ed that  word  wrong),  resulting  in  a  vision  of  three 
separate  and  distinct  sections  of  skyline.  Verily 
the  Chinese  are  wise  in  constantly  referring  to 
their  three  immortal  monkeys,  for  certainly  there 
are  times  when  temporary  blindness  would  help  us 
maintain  the  other  virtues.  It  looks  very  much  as 
if  we  have  a  *'Vamp"  on  board,  but  of  course  I  am 
immune. 

We  crossed  the  equator  late  last  night  and  the 
chill  winds  coming  down  off  the  snow-clad  peaks 
of  Equador  made  it  feel  like  an  early  autumn  night 
in  northern  New  York,  rather  than  an  early  autumn 
night  at  the  equator,  which  it  happens  to  be,  be- 
cause of  the  reversal  of  seasons.  This  has  been  a 
heavenly  day,  with  a  cool  breeze  and  an  almost 
cloudless  sky.  The  setting  sun  revealed  the  new 
moon,  within  what  seemed  but  a  stone's  throw  of 
Venus,  and  each  trying  to  outshine  the  other.  I 
had  to  put  on  an  overcoat  for  my  after-dinner 
walk  tonight,  which  reminds  me  that  almost  the 
same  weather  conditions  prevailed  when  we  cross- 
ed the  line  off  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  in  1904, 
but  that  chill  breeze  did  not  come  from  any  snow- 
clad  mountains.  We  are  due  at  Payta  in  the  morn- 
ing, but  our  stay  will  be  brief,  for  we  have  lost 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      38 

nearly  a  day.  At  four  o'clock  this  rnorning  we 
were  awakened  by  the  clatter  of  the  anchor  chains, 
and  came  on  deck  to  see  the  lights  of  the  town 
nearby,  but  it  was  dark  and  I  went  back  to  bed. 
Came  on  deck  at  seven  o'clock  to  find  the  ship  rid- 
ing at  anchor  in  an  open  roadway,  with  no  pro- 
tection, and  I  fancy  taking  on  cargo  here  in  rough 
weather  would  be  a  serious  task.  The  "Primrose," 
Covert  and  I  went  on  shore,  the  Captain  telling  us 
we  must  return  within  the  hour.  Well,  we  did  the 
town  and  had  forty  minutes  to  spare.  There  is 
a  plaza  about  the  size  of  a  back  yard  in  the  Bronx. 
There  are  two  stunted  palm  trees  here,  and  they 
are  highly  prized,  being-  the  only  green  things  for 
thirty  miles  in  three  directions  with  the  ocean  com- 
pleting the  square.  We  are  told  Pizarro  first  land- 
ed at  Tumbez.  Had  he  made  shore  at  Payta  he 
would  have  gone  back  to  Spain  and  reported  hav- 
ing found  the  rear  entrance  to  hades.  An  in- 
vestigation would  have  confirmed  this  belief,  for 
complete  barrenness  covers  a  range  of  two  thous- 
and miles  in  length  and  a  depth  of  from  forty  to 
sixty  miles,  except  where  small  rivers  make  their 
way  down  from  the  snow-clad  mountains,  forming 
small,  but  extremely  fertile,  valleys,  where  the 
famous  long  fibre  cotton  of  Peru  grows,  along  with 
about  everything  else  that  comes  from  the  ground. 
I  thought  the  Arabian  coast  of  the  Red  Sea  was 
barren,  but  compared  with  this  it  is  a  garden  of 
roses.     We   left   Payta  at   10:30  and  ran  close  to 


34      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITPI   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

the  shore  until  we  rounded  'Tta  de  Agua,"  and 
were  soon  at  anchor  off  Salaverr3^  This  we  found 
just  two  shades  worse  than  Payta,  for  there  is 
not  even  a  mesquite  bush  to  be  seen  here.  The 
"city"  consists  of  one  small  iron  pier,  one  oil  tank, 
one  goods  shed,  and  two  small  houses.  What  an 
exhilarating  time  the  residents  of  these  houses 
must  have  during  the  long  hot  summer  months  ! 
A  sand-bank  runs  back  for  half  a  mile,  ending  at 
the  base  of  the  mountain  peak,  rising  about  2,500 
feet  above  sea.  Clouds  hung  low  over  the  land, 
but  lifted  at  times  showing  similar  peaks  in  the 
distance.  We  passed  to  the  east  of  Guanape,  one 
of  the  great  guano  islands  which  in  the  past  were 
such  sources  of  wealth  to  Peru,  but,  being  a  pawn 
in  the  political  game,  this  wealth  was  rapidly  dis- 
sipated by  granting  concessions  in  order  to  secure 
funds  for  the  promotion  of  the  next  revolution, 
which,  in  those  days  were  monthly  episodes.  Doubt- 
less many  of  these  upheavals  were  brought  about 
by  foreign  concessionaires  when  their  immediate 
holdings  were  near  exhaustion.  Guanape  has  been 
the  home  of  millions  of  sea  ]:>irds  for  countless  ages, 
and  tonight  great  flocks  passed  us,  winging  their 
way  to  their  rocky  home,  and  two  seals  came  to  the 
surface  close  enough  to  the  ship  for  me  to  see 
their  big,  beautiful  eyes.  At  one  o'clock  we  came 
in  sight  of  a  string  of  pelican  painted  islands  gleam- 
ing snow-white  in  the  sun,  whilst  back  of  them 
could  be   seen  an   irregular   shadow  outlining  the 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      35 

Corderillos,  which  tower  up  to  five  and  seven  thous- 
and feet  along  here.  All  the  islands  in  this  vicinity 
are  white  with  guano  deposit,  and  we  saw  the  de- 
positors later  in  the  afternoon,  for  when  I  tell  you 
I  saw  millions  of  birds  at  one  time  in  one  unbroken 
string  tw^elve   miles  long  I  mean  literally. 

As  we  approached  San  Lorenzo  we  could  see  the 
cove  where  Drake  used  to  lie  in  wait  for  Spanish 
galleons  coming  out  from  Callao  laden  with  their 
ill-gotten,  blood-stained  gold,  and  many  a  wild 
scene  of  slaughter  has  been  laid  in  these  same  wa- 
ters. The  island  is  absolutely  barren  and  pre- 
sents the  same  physical  appearance  shown  by  the 
coast  since  leaving  Payta.  The  first  view  one  gets 
of  Callao  gives  one  the  impression  that  it  is  an- 
other Venice,  not  built  on  solid  land,  but  rising 
from  the  sea.  We  were  within  one  mile  before 
anything  that  looked  like  earth  appeared.  We 
dropped  anchor  here,  and  although  the  sea  was  not 
rough,  yet  some  of  the  passengers  got  a  ducking 
because  of  the  wild  scramble  for  trade  by  the 
launch  people. 

The  W.  R.  Grace  people  took  me  in  charge,  get- 
ting me  through  the  customs  and  up  to  the  hotel 
without  any  worry  or  delay.  The  ride  from  Callao 
to  Lima  is  not  in  the  least  attractive.  Broken 
adobe  walls  line  the  way,  and  the  road  is  a  fright. 
There  were  fields  of  ripening  corn  and  other  culti- 
vation I  am  not  familiar  with.  It  is  only  seven 
miles  from  Callao  to  Lima  and  we  were  installed  at 


36      AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

the  Grand  Hotel  Maury  at  six  o'clock.  Brushing 
up  a  bit  we  went  to  the  Exposition  building  and 
enjoyed  the  best  dinner  I  have  had  since  leaving 
New  York.  A  fine  orchestra  entertained,  and  the 
"Primrose"  and  I  had  a  dance  between  the  courses. 
After  dinner  we  had  a  car  take  us  for  an  hour's  ride 
around  the  moonlit  city.  I  was  up  early  the  next 
morning  and  attended  High  Mass  in  the  famous 
cathedral  where  Pizarro  is  buried.  The  building 
is  impressive  in  size  and  architecture,  but,  as  usual, 
is  over-decorated.  Gold  leaf  in  profusion,  with  a 
liberal  supply  of  pink  and  blue  panneling.  The 
paintings,  however,  are  more  artistic  and  of  much 
higher  order  than  are  found  in  most  Central  and 
South  American  countries.  As  a  rule  great  crimes 
are  committed  in  the  name  of  sacred  art,  and  in- 
flicted upon  worshippers.  The  celebration  was  very 
elaborate ;  the  officiating  priests  being  in  costly 
robes  of  red  and  gold,  with  eight  assistants  in  pur- 
ple capes.  Eleven  acolites  were  kept  busy  bearing 
the  sacred  properties  and  swinging  censors.  These 
made  twenty-two  actually  engaged  in  the  service 
and  there  were  but  seven  worshippers  in  all  that 
vast  edifice.  It  reminded  me  of  a  visit  to  the 
Grand  Opera  in  San  Juan  last  month.  Othello 
with  thirty-two  pieces  of  music  in  the  orchestra 
and  thirty  odd  people  on  the  stage,  drew  a  crowd 
of  only  tw^enty-nine  persons,  all  of  which  indicates 
rather   lukewarm   religion  and   indifference   to  art 


I 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      37 

amongst  people  whom  we  are  taught  to  believe  are 
highly  appreciative  of  both. 

Two  very  attractive  Peruvian  cruisers  are  an- 
chored nearby,  and  my  friend  Smith  tells  me  an 
amusing  story  in  connection  with  them.  Four  years 
ago  H.  M.  S.  Lancaster  put  into  this  port  and  fired 
the  usual  salute.  The  Peruvian  flagship  fired  half 
the  prescribed  number  of  guns,  then  sent  over  to 
the  Lancaster  and  borrowed  enough  powder  to  com- 
plete the  salute. 


38      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

A  SENSATIONAL  RAILROAD  JOURNEY. 

CHAPTER  III. 

I  left  Lima  last  Thursday  night,  conscious  of 
having  before  me  what  would  be  perhaps  the  most 
wonderful  trip  I  have  ever  made,  and  this  proved 
to  be  the  case,  largely  through  a  chain  of  fortunate 
circumstances.  Mr.  Smith  had  given  me  letters  of 
introduction  to  the  General  Manager  and  General 
Superintendent  of  the  Central  R.  R.  Co.,  of  Peru, 
but,  upon  presentation,  I  found  the  General  Mana- 
ger had  left  town  for  a  week,  and  the  General 
Superintendent  was  up  the  road.  I  expressed  my 
regret  to  Mr.  Ottiker,  also  my  disappointment,  as 
I  had  hoped  to  ride  the  hind  end  going  up  the  moun- 
tain ;  a  privilege  only  granted  from  headquarters. 
Mr.  Ottiker  kindly  volunteered  to  secure  this  cour- 
tesy, and  gave  me  the  proper  credentials,  which, 
when  presented  to  the  conductors,  gave  me  clearly 
to  understand  everything  would  be  done  to  make 
the  trip  interesting.  Mr.  Mailer,  the  representative 
of  the  Ingersoll-Rand  Co.,  was  with  Mr.  Ottiker, 
and  joined  me,  which  gave  me  delightful  compan- 
ionship. We  staid  at  Chosica  over  night  and  regret 
we  did  not  get  there  earlier,  for  it  has  the  general 
appearance,  seen  in  the  moonlight,  of  being  an 
attractive  place ;  so  much  so  indeed  that  I  have  de- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      ^0 

cided  to  go  up  next  Sunday  and  look  it  over,  and 
will  likely  have  something  to  say  about  it  later. 
Before  we  start  up  the  road,  let  me  tell  you  some- 
thing about  it,  quoting  from  a  book  gotten  out  by 
the  Passenger  Department.  ''Of  all  railroads  in 
the  world,  the  one  from  Lima  to  Oroya  is 
the  most  extraordinary.  It  is  still,  after  its  pictures 
have  served  as  stock  geography  illustrations  for  a 
generation,  probably  the  most  impressive  piece  of 
railroad  engineering  in  the  world.  Built  in  the  days 
when  Peru  was  rich  and  reckless,  it  stands  a  monu- 
ment of  that  time  and  to  that  gifted  Soldier  of 
Fortune,  Henry  Meiggs  of  New  York,  After  a 
wild  career,  in  which  fortunes  were  made  and  lost 
by  him  in  California,  he  went  broke  and  had  to  quit 
the  country  "pronto ;"  leaving  debts  behind  him  of 
over  a  million  dollars.  Going  to  Chili  he  engaged 
in  railroad  and  bridge  building*.  Although  not  an 
engineer,  he  soon  amassed  another  fortune  and 
came  to  Peru.  Here  he  floated  $29,000,000  in  bonds 
and  started  to  build  the  Aroyo  road  in  1869.  He  did 
not  live  to  see  it  finished,  but  he  carried  it  up  the 
eyebrows  of  the  Andes  from  the  sea  coast  to  the  icy 
galleries  of  the  Cordilleras,  and  he  paid  all  his 
debts.  The  Aroya  road  is  not  only  the  highest  in 
.the  world,  but  there  is  no  other  that  lifts  its  breath- 
less passengers  to  any  such  altitude  in  so  short  a 
time.  To  climb,  as  the  Aroya  clini1)s,  a  Hudson 
River  train  would  have  to  ascend,  half  an  hour 
before  it  reached  Albany,  a  distance  one  thousand 


40      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

feet  greater  than  that  from  sea  level  to  the  summit 
(of  Pikes  Peak,  and  the  ascent  is  made  in  less  than 
ten  hours."  Which,  pause  to  remark,  is  some  "up- 
ward flight,"  and  now  let  me  start  all  over  again. 
The  station  building  and  grounds  at  Lima  are  very 
beautiful,  and  the  grounds  remind  me  of  the  Bea- 
ver Falls-New  Brigton  station  on  the  P.  &  L.  E. 
R.  R.,  but,  of  course,  the  foliage  was  entirely  dif- 
ferent, except  plots  of  colias,  which  brighten  up 
both  grounds.  Water  being  available  here  the  trees 
and  flowers  are  kept  free  from  the  burden  of  dust 
which  simply  smothers  everything  in  Lima,  and  this 
condition  certainly  gladdens  the  eye.  Immediately 
back  of  the  station,  beyond  the  net  work  of  tracks, 
a  great  pyramid-like  hill  rises,  probably  800  feet, 
crowned  by  a  giant  cross  and  wireless  outfit,  which 
I  understand  is  very  powerful,  and  ships  can  be 
reached  far  out  at  sea.  It  was  not  yet  dark  when 
we  left  the  station  and  I  was  permitted  to  note  the 
fields  of  cotton  ready  for  picking;  fields  of  corn 
ready  for  cutting.  A  garden  spot  here  and  there 
with  onions  and  tomatoes  as  well  as  other  familiar 
vegetables  ready  for  market,  and  countless  patches 
in  odd  shapes  and  large  fields  of  utterly  barren 
land,  but  all  carefully  protected  by  massive  adobe 
walls.  What  they  guard  against  is  beyond  me,  for 
not  even  cacti  could  be  seen.  The  habitations  along 
the  line  were  mostly  adobe  huts.  A  few  were  some- 
what pretentious,  but  all,  constructed  of  adobe, 
which   makes   it   necessary   for   the   inhabitants   to 


AROUND   SOUTH    A]\rERlCA    AVITII    A    SAMPLE   CASE      41 

pray  for  "no  rain."  A  week's  down-pour  would  be 
more  disastrous  to  this  community  than  the  Balti- 
more fire  was  to  that  city.  At  Santa  Clara,  the 
first  town  out  from  Lima,  a  pusher  coupled  to  us, 
and  we  began  the  ascent  of  the  grade.  Night  had 
come  on,  and  I  entertained  myself  with  dreaming 
of  the  days  when  the  valley  of  the  Rimac  grew 
corn  and  cotton  for  the  peaceful  and  happy  Inca, 
who  was  glad  to  get  a  string  of  gold  nuggets  to 
adorn  his  woman,  but  a  bushel  of  golden  corn  was 
far  more  important  to  him,  and  the  white  cotton 
field  was  more  attractive  than  was  the  white  gleam 
of  silver. 

Not  seeing  its  value  as  the  world  saw  it,  he  must 
have  been  bewildered  when  he  connected  it  up  with 
the  toil,  the  woe,  the  death  and  the  general  destruc- 
tion which  marked  its  acquisition.  What  a  pity 
the  greed  for  gold  destroyed  a  people  and  a  civiliza- 
tion that  from  best  authority  could  have  taught 
their  conquerors  a  valuable  lesson ;  but  their  bones 
now  mingle  with  the  dust  around  Lima  and  Callao 
and  so  get  even,  in  a  measure,  by  half  choking  the 
population.  At  8:10  in  the  morning  the  train  pull- 
ed into  Chosica,  and  Mailer  and  I  settled  ourselves 
on  the  rear  end  of  the  baggage  car  and  began  the 
greatest  railroad  ride  I  have  ever  taken  or  ever 
expect  to  take.  The  valley  narrowed  immediately 
after  leaving  Chosica,  but  we  still  found  small  plots 
of  ground  growing  cotton,  corn  and  even  tomatoes. 
Between  Lima  and  Callao  corn  had  ripened  and  was 


42      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

ready  to  harvest,  but  here  it  was  just  coming  up. 
Mailer  tells  me  they  have  roasting  ears  the  year 
round.  The  grains  are  very  large  and  the  cob  from 
eight  to  fourteen  inches  long.  There  is  consider- 
able bird  life  all  along  the  line  to  an  altitude  of  six 
thousand  feet.  The  ever  present  blackbird,  with 
his  tail  on  straight,  and  not  cross-wise,  as  it  is  on 
his  brothers  in  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba.  There  are 
also  any  number  of  fussy  little  rascals  like  our 
swallows.  They  have  the  same  darting  flight  and 
evidently  feed  on  flying  insects.  As  late  as  10:30 
last  night  they  were  flashing  about  the  electric 
lights  in  front  of  the  station,  and  they  were  just 
as  busy  when  the  train  pulled  out  this  A.  M.  Per- 
haps they  have  established  an  eight  hour  shift.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  it  is  a  pity  they  cannot  inspire  the 
sleepy  natives  with  some  of  their  energy.  We  pass- 
ed a  small  round-house  just  outside  the  town  of 
Chosica  and  the  ridge  pole  was  lined  with  the  most 
disreputable  bunch  of  birds  I  have  ever  beheld. 
They  are  similar  to  our  buzzards  so  numerous  in 
the  south,  but  these  fellows  looked  as  if  they  had 
been  on  a  bat  all  night.  I  have  never  seen  a  picture 
of  such  abject  misery.  Their  heads  hung  drooping 
either  straight  down,  or  to  one  side,  which  was 
worse.  Their  wings  hung  loose,  looking  as  if  half 
the  pinions  had  been  pulled  out,  leaving  them  rag- 
ged and  unsightly.  Hereafter  when  I  hear  the 
term,  "disreputable  bird"  applied  to  some  poor  old 


AROITND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      43 

soak  I  will  see  an  hundred  of  him  on  the  ridge  pole 
of  the  Chosica  round-house. 

Just  before  reaching  San  Bartholomew  we  pass- 
ed fields  of  bananas,  and  after  leaving  the  town  we 
came  into  the  coffee  and  orange  belt.  The  coffee 
bushes  were  in  blossom  and  the  orange  trees  laden 
with  golden  fruit.  Ten  minutes  later,  swing- 
ing around  an  abrupt  shoulder  of  the  mountain,  we 
found  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  millions  of  pink, 
blue  and  white  morning  glories  in  full  bloom.  See- 
ing them  was  like  a  love  letter  from  home,  so  sweet 
and  familiar  were  their  dear  faces,  although  they 
seemed  out  of  place  in  the  neighborhood  with  tropi- 
cal fruits  and  plants.  A  trail  goes  over  the  moun- 
tain at  San  Bartholomew;  in  steps  at  places,  and 
at  times  going  for  a  mile  or  more  along  the  face  of 
a  precipice.  The  Seventh  Day  Adventists  left  us 
here  to  take  the  trip  over  the  mountain,  and  I  cer- 
tainly envied  them.  This  sect  is  very  active  here 
and  I  am  told  they  are  doing  good  work  in  teach- 
ing the  Indians  how  to  keep  clean  and  healthy,  as 
well  as  how  to  worship.  I  have  always  felt  the  two 
are  inseparable,  and  the  Seventh  Day  Adventists 
should  do  a  good  work  here.  I  have  met  four  of 
this  sect  since  coming  to  Peru,  and  was  most  favor- 
ably impressed  in  each  case. 

Thirty  minutes  after  leaving  San  Bartholomew 
we  looked  immediately  down  on  it  seven  hundred 
feet  below,  and  from  here  we  got  a  good  view  of 
the  trail  on  the  opposite  mountain.    Three  donkeys 


44      AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

or  llamas  were  toiling  up,  but  they  looked  like 
ants  crawling  up  the  Woolworth  building,  so  T 
could  not  tell  if  they  honked  or  bleated.  We  soon 
began  to  run  into  tunnels  at  short  intervals ;  there 
being  sixty-eight  of  them  on  the  road.  Some  were 
rather  lengthy  and  got  mighty  thick  at  times,  mak- 
ing the  sunlight  and  pure  air  very  welcome.  By 
this  time  we  had  bidden  good-bye  to  everything 
that  looked  like  a  valley  and  were  looking  down  on 
the  rushing  waters  of  the  Rimac,  cutting  its  wedge 
between  the  towering  walls  to  which  we  seemed  to 
cling  by  our  eyebrows.  Here  began  the  famous 
terraces,  built  by  the  Incas,  reaching,  at  places,  to 
the  very  top  of  the  mountain.  Many  of  those 
lower  down  are  green  with  alfafa  and  very  produc- 
tive, being  watered  by  the  aqueducts  cut  thousands 
of  years  ago  by  the  former  inhabitants.  This,  by 
the  way,  is  the  original  "perpendicular  farm"  for, 
although  terraced,  the  cultivated  land  is  seemingly 
straight  up  and  down.  I  would  like  to  see  a  harvest 
hand  at  work,  and  bet  a  dollar  he  has  a  rope  tied 
to  his  leg,  with  the  other  end  attached  to  a  well- 
anchored  boulder,  for  one  slip,  and  he  would  be  like 
the  religious  painter  who  slid  ofif  the  barn  roof:  It 
would  be  "Oh  Lord  have  mercy  on  me,  and  now 
for  a  hell  of  a  bump." 

The  train  stopped  at  Matucana  for  lunch,  and  a 
good  one  it  was.  Price  seventy-five  cents,  and  the 
same  thing  in  Pittsburgh  would  have  cost  two  dol- 
lars, and  only  a   millionaire   would  dare   to  order 


AliOUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      45 

anything  like  it  in  Lima.  It  was  altogether  too 
good,  and  I  ate  too  much,  paying  the  penalty  later, 
as  you  will  learn.  Our  next  important  stop  was  at 
San  Mateo,  10,000  feet  above  sea.  There  was  a 
fiesta  in  progress  at  the  time,  with  music  and  day- 
light firworks.  The  fireworks  came  first,  and  I  was 
wondering  if  I  had  gotten  into  an  incipient  revolu- 
tion, as  this  is  the  season  for  these  events,  being 
around  election  time,  but  the  band  began  to  play 
after  the  fulsilade  and  I  knew  we  were  all  right. 
Inquiry  of  the  brakeman  disclosed  the  fact  that 
this  town  has  a  curious  yearly  celebration.  There 
are  two  trails  going  over  the  mountains  from  the 
town,  and,  as  always  along  these  trails  in  Peru, 
wherever  a  convenient  spot  occurs,  a  shrine  is 
erected,  consisting  of  a  cross  and  figure  of  the 
Christ,  and  sometimes  the  cross  alone.  This  is  a 
source  of  considerable  revenue  to  the  church  as 
there  is  an  alms  box  attached  to  each  into  which 
every  llama  driver  who  stops  to  offer  a  prayer 
drops  a  penny,  and  collections  are  made  regularly. 
Now,  whether  as  a  reward  for  work  well  done,  or 
for  the  purpose  of  renewing  their  efficiency  the 
brakeman  could  not  tell  me,  but  anyhow  all  the 
crosses  in  the  parish  are  brought  down  to  the 
church,  blessed,  decorated  with  flowers,  carried  in 
parade  through  the  town,  and  back  to  their  original 
places,  prepared  to  keep  lonely  vigil  and  offer  con- 
solation to  the  passers-by  for  another  year.  The 
celebration  lasts  from  the  second  to  the  fifteenth  of 


46      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

May,  by  which  time  all  the  crosses  have  had  all  due 
attention.  Immediately  above  the  town  is  the  main 
shrine,  consisting  of  a  cross  that  must  stand  twenty 
feet,  for  it  is  very  distinct,  although  a  half-mile 
nearer  heaven  than  the  town.  My  informant  told 
me  it  was  a  week's  job  for  a  small  army  of  men  to 
fix  up  that  one  alone,  but  others  required  much  less 
time. 

Just  after  leaving  San  Mateo  we  passed  an  In- 
dian sheep  herder,  and  I  would  have  given  ten  dol- 
lars for  a  picture  as  I  saw  it.  He  was  perched 
upon  a  boulder,  and  had  I  not  been  observant  I 
would  not  have  seen  him,  for  rock,  face,  hands,  feet 
and  poncho  were  all  the  same  shade  of  reddish 
brown,  and  he  was  as  motionless  as  the  rock  upon 
which  he  sat.  It  was  at  one  of  the  switch-backs, 
and  we  were  in  sight  of  him  for  some  time,  but  so 
far  as  I  could  make  out,  he  never  batted  an  eye, 
and  had  I  not  passed  within  ten  feet  of  him  I  would 
doubt  the  evidence  of  my  senses. 

There  is  much  terraced  work  in  the  mountains 
above  San  Mateo,  and  we  saw  fields  of  wheat  13,000 
feet  high,  and  looking  at  them  I  recall  that  Pres- 
cott  tells  us  the  Incas  had  a  socialistic  system  that 
was  interesting.  All  land  belonged  to  the  emperor, 
and  when  a  man  married  he  was  given  a  certain 
section  of  hillside  for  cultivation.  Additional 
ground  was  handed  over  to  him  for  each  child 
born,  but  if  cultivation  was  compulsory  I  think 
it  must   have   had  a   tendency  to  check  the  birth 


►UND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      47 

rate,  ^or  one  small  section  is  all  I  would  care  to 
tackle. \  It  must  have  been  a  great  system,  for  if 
the  kid  \died  dad  lost  a  quarter  section,  and  if  his 
wife  ran\away  the  old  man  would  have  to  fish  for 
a  living,  as  th^y  would  commandeer  all  his  prop- 
erty. We  saw  the  first  bunch  of  llamas  at  San 
Mateo,  and  they  were  certainly  interesting.  I  was 
told  they  could  "live  on  nothing  and  digest  it  sever- 
al times,  and  can  exist  without  water  longer  than 
a  camel.  That  he  will  cheerfully  carry  100  lbs.  on 
hfs  back,  but  put  101  lbs.  on  him,  and  he  proceeds 
to  go  to  bed  for  the  day.  The  pants  could  be  kicked 
off  him,  and  he  could  be  cussed  in  Spanish,  the 
latter  being  specially  effective,  in  vain.  When  the 
extra  pound  is  taken  off  he  will  promptly  arise  and 
join  the  ranks."  Evidently  they  know  the  game, 
for  I  can  tell  you  every  pound  counts  when  either 
man  or  beast  is  13,000  feet  in  the  air.  We  reached 
Casapalca  at  3  :30,  and  I  discovered  I  was  very  tired. 
I  found  Mr.  Sheriff,  the  superintendent  of  the  R. 
R.  there,  and  presented  my  letters,  telling  how  I 
had  enjoyed  the  rear  end  ride,  and  asked  for  per- 
mission to  return  that  way.  He  said  he  would  do 
better  than  that.  "If  you  have  the  nerve  I  will 
send  you  down  the  mountain  on  a  gravity  car  when 
you  are  ready  to  go."  I  assured  him  nerves  and  I 
had  never  become  well  acquainted  and  tried  to 
thank  him  for  this  wonderful  opportunity.  We 
walked  slowly,  very  slowly  up  to  the  General 
Manager's  home,  Mr.  Mailer  introduced  me  to  the 


48      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

General  Superintendent,  Mr.  Mott,  and  he  extend- 
ed every  courtesy  to  me.  In  due  time  we  enjoyed 
a  good  dinner  and  adjourned  to  the  comfortable  liv- 
ing room,  where,  in  front  of  a  cheerful  fire  and  in 
restful  chairs,  we  spun  yarns  and  talked  of  far 
away  New  York.  I  think  all  of  us  wished  we  could 
be  at  the  Palais  Royal  for  the  evening.  About  9.30 
we  went  to  bed,  and  at  10:30  I  realized  I  had 
"soroche."  I  have  had  about  every  known  ailment 
from  sea-sickness  to  sore  thumb  but  I  never  knew 
the  real  significance  of  the  term  headache  imtil 
that  fool  thing  hit  me.  Soroche  is  Spanish  for 
mountain  sickness,  and  I  think  it  is  a  combination 
of  the  American  word  "sore"  oh,  gee  !  If  so,  ic  is 
well  and  properly  named.  I  never  spent  such  a 
miserable  night  before  in  all  my  lifetime. 

The  law  of  compensation  holds  good,  for  although 
my  night  in  the  moutains  was  a  holy  terror,  my 
return  down  the  mountain  cannot  be  described.  No 
one  could  adequately  convey  even  a  remote  picture 
of  the  experience,  but  I  will  try  to  tell  something 
about  it.  I  had  planned  to  ride  over  the  16,000  foot 
pass  on  horseback  with  Mr.  Mailer  on  Sunday  to 
visit  Mr.  Campbell  at  Morococho ;  go  on  from  there 
by  rail  and  come  down  from  Tichlo  on  the  hand 
car.  It  was  an  alluring  prospect,  but  I  was  down 
and  out  Saturday  morning,  and  Mr.  Mott  sent  the 
company  doctor  to  see  me.  He  gave  me  some  dope 
to  act  as  a  "heart  brake",  as  it  was  still  racing 
madly,  and,  for  the  time  being  I  had  lost  all  interest 


AR6UND   south   AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      49 

in  everything  pertaining  to  hills  higher  than  the 
South  Side  Incline,  and  I  would  have  viewed  that 
with  lack-lustre  gaze.  He  then  put  the  stethoscope 
on  my  heart  and  told  me  to  get  down  off  the  moun- 
tain at  once  or  I  would  be  laid  up  for  a  spell,  and 
perhaps  have  serious  results.  So  I  bade  good-bye  to 
my  contemplated  exploring  expedition  and  slowly 
strolled  down  to  the  station,  assisted  by  my  good 
friends  Mott  and  Mailer.  I  told  Mr.  Mott  how 
sorry  I  was  to  miss  the  promised  ride  down  the 
mountain  in  the  gravity  car,  and  he  said  ''I  think  I 
can  fix  that  up  for  you,"  so  he  left  me  to  return  in 
a  few  minutes  with  permission  for  me  to  go  down 
ahead  of  the  passenger  train  as  far  as  Matucana, 
which  covers  the  most  picturesque  part  of  the  line. 
The  news  instantly  brought  about  recovery  so  far 
as  the  headache  was  concerned,  but  I  knew  mv 
heart-beats  increased  for  very  gladness.  A  hasty 
good-bye  was  said,  for  it  was  a  case  of  hustle,  as 
the  passenger  train  was  about  due,  and  I  did  not 
want  to  have  any  dispute  with  it  as  to  the  right  of 
way.  I  found  myself  making  a  very  careful  men- 
tal estimation  of  the  engineer,  for  I  had  a  vivid 
picture  in  my  mind  of  the  journey  before  me,  and 
felt  the  need  of  a  man  thoroughly  dependable  in  the 
first  place,  and  one  who  had  not  had  a  drink  of  any- 
thing stronger  than  coffee  for  at  least  one  month. 
He  was  a  husky  Indian,  and  passed  inspection, 
measuring  up  to  my  requirement  very  nicely,  and 
in  another  moment  I  had  resigned  myself  to  com- 


50      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

plete  self-effacement.  In  all  my  life  I  have  never 
felt  so  utterly  insignificant  as  when  that  car 
gathered  speed  and  went  slithering  down  the  face 
of  that  mighty  hill.  For  the  first  mile  or  two  we 
had  a  good  broad  foundation  under  us,  and  then 
we  swept  around  a  spur,  coming  onto  a  ledge 
where  I  could  look  almost  straight  down  2,000  feet 
below  to  the  Power  Plant  driven  by  a  tunnelled 
stream.  Brakes  were  tightened  when  trails  cross- 
ed the  railroad  tracks,  but  we  would  pass  by  a 
group  of  llamas,  some  loaded,  others  without  the 
pack,  and  all  carrying  their  head  about  like  Brown 
Potter  when  she  came  on  the  stage  as  "Cleopatra" 
with  her  minions  about  her.  They  are  positively 
stuck-up  in  their  bearing,  and  no  doubt  feel  them- 
selves the  aristocrats  of  the  mountains.  When  I 
had  settled  down  to  free  breathing  and  able  to  see 
things  interestedly  I  noted  the  contrast  of  these 
mountains  to  all  others  I  had  ever  been  on.  There 
are  no  ''riven  sides"  to  be  seen  here,  for,  while  they 
have  heavy  rains,  they  seldom  last  long  enough  to 
cut  the  face  of  the  mountain,  and  where  a  gorge 
does  appear,  there  is  always  a  permanent  stream  to 
account  for  it,  but  the  vast  area  is  smooth  except 
where  the  terraces  have  been  built,  or  water-way  cut. 
It  was  a  kaleidoscopic  proposition.  A  long  sweep 
down  with  constant  change  of  scene  ;  a  loop  the  loop 
curve,  getting  back  where  we  started  from,  but  one 
or  two  hundred  feet  below.  Then  we  would  come 
to  a  place  where  no  loop  was  possible,  and  we  would 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE      51 

switch  back  to  the  lower  level.  Into  tunnels,  over 
bridges,  around  more  curves,  finally  flashing  out  of 
a  tunnel  immediately  onto  what  seemed  a  mighty 
insecure  bridge,  where  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  aw- 
ful depths  below.  Instantly  we  plunged  into  an- 
other hole  in  the  wall,  and  out  of  it  like  the  prover- 
bial "bat  out  of  hades."  The  simile  is  perfectly 
proper,  for  the  place  is  called  'Infiernillo"  (little 
hell),  and  we  were  justified  in  hurrying  along,  but 
had  we  left  the  track  just  then  our  next  stop  would 
have  been  square  in  the  middle  of  the  moon ;  the 
nearby  mountain  serving  to  richochet  us  into  the 
proper  course  upward.  And  so  we  came  on  past 
rushing-  waterfalls,  great  spillways  at  the  power 
plants,  villages  a  mile  below  one  minute  and  on 
our  way  through  them  a  few  minutes  later ;  every 
minute  a  thrill  that  could  come  but  once  in  a  life- 
time elsewhere.  Every  moment  a  breathless  one 
until  we  ran  into  the  town  of  Matucana.  That  was 
as  far  as  the  gravity  car  could  take  me,  and  I 
thought  my  sensational  ride  had  ended,  but  it  had 
only  gotten  well  under  way.  In  a  few  minutes  af- 
ter arriving  at  Matucana  the  passenger  train  which 
we  had  preceeded,  came  in,  and  just  as  I  was  about 
to  enter  the  coach  Mr.  Sheriff  touched  me  on  the 
shoulder,  and  said,  "Have  you  any  nerve  energy 
left?  If  so,  come  ride  the  rest  of  the  way  on  the 
front  end."  I  was  glad  to  accept  this  great  courtesy 
and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  rocking  down  the 
way  on  the  locomotive,  and  it  was  as  wild  a  ride 


52      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

as  on  the  hand  car,  for  we  thundered  down  the 
mountain  at  from  twelve  to  fourteen  miles  per 
hour,  which,  at  times,  seemed  altogether  too  speedy, 
especially  when  we  approached  what  seemed  the 
jumping  off  place,  en  route  to  eternity,  or  skimming 
across  a  cobwebby  bridge  from  which  we  could 
catch  a  fleeting  glimpse  of  a  village  2,000  feet  be- 
low. It  is  useless,  for  me  at  least,  to  try  to  con- 
vey my  impressions  through  mere  words ;  for,  so 
far  as  I  know,  the  necessary  words  have  never  been 
coined,  but  I  can  express  my  appreciation  of  the 
courtesy  extended  by  Mr.  Ottiker,  Mr.  Sheriff  and 
the  employees  of  the  road,  and  the  many  favors 
at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Mott,  superintendent  of  the 
Casapalca  smelter.  These  people  have  placed  me 
under  obligations  I  can  never  repay,  but  it  has 
made  me  more  determined  than  ever  to  carry  out 
the  rotary  principle,  and  I  will  enjoy  serving  some- 
one else,  even  as  these  splendid  fellows  seemed  to 
enjoy  rendering  me  service. 

By  the  time  I  reached  Lima  all  thought  of  the 
physical  distress  I  had  suffered  was  forgotten.  I 
was  ravenously  hungry  and  felt  like  a  two-year 
old.  The  bed  was  very  comfortable,  pillow  and  all, 
which  calls  for  further  light.  In  South  Africa  the 
natives  cut  out  a  block  of  wood  to  fit  the  neck  and 
back  of  the  head.  Well,  the  people  here  do  not 
take  the  trouble  to  notch  the  log,  but  put  it  (some- 
times it  is  round  and  sometimes  square)  into  a  pil- 
low case,  and  let  it  go  at  that.     The  weary  pil- 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA   AVITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      53 

grim  seeking  rest  can  drop  it  back  of  the  bed  and 
swear  or  try  to  sleep  on  it,  and  swear  harder.  But 
last  night  I  slept  on  the  pillow  and  found  it  com- 
fortable. 


54      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

A  SUNDAY  IN  LIMA. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Lima  is  the  only  South  American  city  where  the 
noble  (?)  sport  of  bull  fighting  is  indulged  in,  as 
Sunday  is  the  day  for  this  event  I  made  inquiry  as 
to  the  time  and  place,  but  the  hotel  clerk  in  an- 
swer to  my  inquiry  if  there  was  a  bull  fight  on 
today  said :  "Si  senor,  pero  political  solemente." 
Being  fed  up  on  political  bull  fights  at  home  just 
at  this  time  I  asked  him  to  direct  me  to  the  English 
church.  The  direction  given  was  followed  care- 
fully, but  the  church  seemed  elusive,  and  my  best 
Spanish,  coupled  with  the  latest  development  of 
the  sign  language,  failed  to  help  me  out,  so  the 
morning  was  spent  at  the  Phoenix  Club,  reading 
the  latest  edition  of  the  New  York  Times  and  Lon- 
don Opinion  of  even  greater  antiquity.  One  is  well 
out  of  touch  with  things  down  here,  and  an  edition 
of  today  would  bring  a  fancy  price.  After  lunch 
inquiry  was  made  as  to  how  to  reach  the  race 
track.  The  direction  given  was  not  nearly  so  ex- 
plicit as  the  church  chart,  but  the  grand  stand  was 
reached  promptly,  but  not  without  some  trouble. 
Every  taxi  in  town  had  been  commandeered,  and 
the  only  thing  left  at  the  public  square  was  one  of 
the  teams  that  helped  hauled  the  mourners  when 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      55 

Pizarro  was  buried.  It  was  one  of  the  most  ven- 
erable outfits  not  tagged  in  a  museum.  Had  the 
distance  been  one  mile  further  there  would  have 
been  a  collapse.  The  black  pirate  in  charge  looked 
like  a  good  natured  negro  from  around  Petersburg, 
and  knowing  the  cab  rates  I  made  no  bargain.  Alas 
for  appearances.  When  I  had  carefully  gotten  out, 
so  as  not  to  shake  things  over  much,  and  handed 
him  the  dollar  fare  and  twenty-five  cents  tip  for  the 
sake  of  "Ole  Virginny"  he  put  up  a  howl  for  two 
dollars.  Not  knowing  what  it  might  cost  to  kill 
a  coon  in  Lima  he  escaped  this  time,  but  some  fel- 
low will  come  along  who  will  not  count  the  cost, 
and  that  rogue  will  join  Pizarro  in  the  realms  of 
outer  darkness,  for  they  belong  to  the  same  class, 
if  history  is  correct.  There  was  only  a  fair  crowd 
in  attendance,  and  very  few  women.  Both  men  and 
women  were  dressed  somberly,  as  is  the  custom 
down  here.  The  day  was  hot  but  my  flannel  suit 
was  the  only  one  on  the  grounds,  and  was  really 
conspicuous  in  that  nothing  brighter  than  Quaker 
gray  was  in  evidence,  and  but  few  went  even  that 
far  in  color. 

There  are  two  grand  stands  overlooking  'the 
track;  one  for  the  "Caballeros"  and  one  for  the 
"other  fellows."  There  were  also  two  bands  of 
music,  but  neither  of  them  would  figure  very  high 
in  musical  circles ;  the  jazz  fever  being  epidemic 
here  as  elswhere.  It  was  just  the  every  day  crowd 
seen  on  the  streets  of  the  city,  and  a  total  absence 


56      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

of  the  race  horse  type  we  are  so  familiar  with  in 
the  States.  There  were  touts,  of  course,  but  they 
were  far  less  annoying  than  our  breed.  The  second 
race  was  on,  but  the  horses  ran  sluggishly  and 
there  was  no  enthusiasm.  The  third  race  had  No. 
13  on  the  card,  and  being  partial  to  this  number  I 
wagered  ten  pesos  on  the  brute.  He  w^as  an  "also 
ran,"  and  this  ended  my  betting,  having  in  mind  a 
trip  to  Pimlico  many  years  ago  when  a  bicycle  was 
all  that  saved  a  long,  but  not  lonely  walk,  as  was 
demonstrated  by  the  number  who  were  thanking 
their  stars  they  came  on  wheels,  and  found  no  place 
where  they  could  be  hypothecated  at  the  track. 

Hull  of  San  Juan  g'ave  me  a  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  Mr.  Hill,  manager  of  the  Mercantile  Bank  of 
America.  He  and  his  assistant  came  in  after  the 
second  race.  Graham  was  swearing  in  a  moderate 
way  because  he  had  just  been  relieved  of  his  wallet 
containing  seven  pounds,  and  his  Masonic  pin.  This 
being  a  "non-Masonic"  community  lessens  his 
chance  for  recovery.  Should  the  thief  be  conscience 
stricken  and  seek  the  confessional  showing  the 
"square  and  compass"  the  padre  would  be  sure  to 
say,  "Bless  you  my  son ;  you  deserve  a  reward  for 
robbing  a  heretic.  You  may  keep  the  emblem  and 
I  will  give  you  a  clean  bill  of  health  when  you  bring 
me  the  seven  pounds."  Lima  has  a  bad  reputation 
along  this  line,  for  one  is  constantly  being  warned 
of  pickpockts,  and  doubtless  it  was  well  I  left 
my  watch  and  most  of  my  money  at  the  hotel,  for  I 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      5  ( 

mingled  with  the  crowd  freely  at  the  race  track, 
and  might  be  looking  around  for  an  Ingersol  to- 
morrow. The  distance  not  being  great,  and  wish- 
ing to  avoid  further  discussion  with  the  licensed 
burglars,  I  decided  to  walk  back  to  the  hotel  after 
the  races.  The  journey  was  most  interesting.  Pass- 
ing the  open  door  of  one  of  the  houses  just  out- 
side the  race  track  I  was  vigorouly  winked  at  by 
one  of  the  inmates.  Somehow  'T  ha'  me  doots" 
about  that  lady,  and  think  she  sized  me  up  as  a  lone- 
ly man  far  from  home.  She,  of  course,  expressed 
her  willingness  to  help  me  forget  in  case  I  had  been 
a  winner  at  the  races.  But  after  all  it  may  have 
been  a  friendly  greeting. 

The  plaza  back  of  the  Medical  College  would  be 
very  beautiful  if  only  a  good  rain  would  come  and 
wash  the  dust  of  ages  from  the  plants,  trees  and 
flowers.  Even  the  fountain  is  dust-laden,  and  Old 
Neptune  looks  uncomfortable  in  his  mantle  of  dirt. 
He  has  his  spear,  but  he  would  gladly  exchange  it 
for  a  broom,  if  free  to  lise  it  without  smothering 
the  passers  by.  The  basin  is  half  full  of  a  green 
slime,  and  the  very  latest  thing  in  mosquitoes  is 
being  prolifically  produced  therein.  They  were 
particularly  ferocious,  so  my  study  of  the  artistic 
features  of  the  fountain  was  brief.  The  entire  jour- 
ney back  to  the  hotel  was  dusty  beyond  descrip- 
tion, but  the  ladies  were  hanging  out  the  second 
story  windows  along  the  main  streets,  very  like  in 
everything  but  personal  appearance   to  what   one 


58      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

would  see  down  in  South  Baltimore  when  the  ladies 
exchanged  views  as  to  whether  Tim  Logan  would 
come  home  drunk  again  Saturday  night.  These 
women  are  wonderfully  beautiful,  and  anyone  who 
could  walk  the  length  of  Calle  Espaderos  on  a  Sun- 
day afternoon  and  not  get  a  kink  in  his  neck  has 
either  passed  the  age  limit,  or  his  eye-sight  is  at 
fault.  By  the  way  I  find  myself  suffering  from  a 
bad  kink,  and  am  duly  thankful.  The  walk  remind- 
ed me  of  my  visit  to  Pretoria  some  years  ago. 
There  was  the  same  swirling  dust  storm,  and  it 
drove  me  straight  to  the  Phoenix  Club  and  a  hurry 
call  for  something  to  clear  my  throat.  I  thought 
of  poor  old  Werker  and  his  '*Herr  Lanning,  I  dink 
ve  vill  trink  dis  slowly,"  when  the  waiter  soaked 
him  one  dollar  for  a  bottle  of  beer.  The  interesting 
features  of  the  day  did  not  end  at  the  club,  for, 
later  an  episode  in  the  dining  room  furnished  much 
amusement.  A  big,  fat  German  sat  at  the  table 
near  me.  He  was  a  German  all  right,  for  he  got 
outside  of  two  quarts  of  beer  during  the  meal. 
Well,  he  ordered  fried  chicken,  or  at  least  tried  to, 
and  the  waiter  brought  what  looked  very  like  a 
soft  shelled  crab.  It  certainly  was  no  part  of  a 
chicken,  and  he  sent  it  back  with  more  or  less  pro- 
fane spluttering.  The  waiter  brought  chicken  the 
next  time,  and  when  he  set  it  on  the  table  he  made 
a  sign  over  it  very  much  like  the  priest  makes 
over  the  sacred  relics.  That  waiter  invoked  no 
blessing,   but   was   thinking   what   Bilque   used   to 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      59 

emphatically  express  when  I  would  order  roast  beef 
on  Friday,  whilst  he  had  to  be  satisfied  with  finnan 
haddie  or  pickled  herrings.  His  plea  that  it  might 
choke  me  was  sincere  though  friendly,  but  the 
waiter's  wish  was  sincere  without  being  friendly. 
Evidently  the  incident  flustered  the  waiter,  for  I 
ordered  chicken  milanesa  with  potatoes,  but  his  in- 
terpretation of  "Polio  milanesa  con  papas"  result- 
ed in  a  thing  that  resembled  a  kidney  plaster  more 
than  any  other  one  thing.  It  even  bulged  out  big 
at  both  ends,  and  would  have  passed  for  one  of 
Johnson  &  Johnson's  latest  and  best.  Being  some- 
what intimidated  by  that  mysterious  sign,  I  made 
no  protest  and  had  a  try  at  it,  but  am  more  than 
ever  convinced  it  was  intended  for  the  outside  of 
the  back  instead  of  the  inside  of  the  stomach. 
However,  there  has  been  no  ill  effects,  but  who 
knows  what  would  have  been  the  result  had  the 
hoo-doo  gone  with  it. 

The  country  is  seething  in  a  political  campaign, 
as  the  presidential  election  will  be  held  next  Sun- 
day. There  were  several  club  parades  this  after- 
noon, with  grinning  darkies  carrying  banners,  and 
scrub  hands  making  noises  of  more  or  less  atrocity. 
One  of  the  national  flag  bearers  evidently  got 
"het  up"  during  the  march,  and  just  as  he  passed 
me  he  gathered  a  handful  of  the  sacred  folds  and 
mopped  his  face.  It  is  tragic  to  even  think  what 
would  happen  to  Mose  if  that  stunt  was  pulled 
oflf  during  a  Rotary  parade  on  Fifth  avenue.     The 


60      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

Socialist  party  has  imported  one  whom  they  are 
advertising  as  ''El  brilanti  Tribuno  de  Argentine" 
which  means,  so  far  as  I  can  make  it  out,  a  bloom- 
ing Bolshivic  from  Buenos  Aires,  but  he  does  not 
seem  to  fit  the  roll  in  the  least.  When  the  "Eng- 
lish Primrose"  and  I  were  at  the  desk  Monday 
night,  this  duck  passed  and  repassed,  twirling  his 
carefully  trimmed  mustache,  at  the  same  time  get- 
ting his  head  entirely  reversed  each  turn.  It  is  most 
fortunate  no  ink  well  was  available  or  bricks  lying 
around.  It  would  have  been  imminently  satisfac- 
tory to  mar  his  beauty  somewhat.  He  is  much 
more  like  unto  the  hero  in  a  cheap  opera  than  "Un 
Tribuno."  He  presents  a  beautifully  trimmed  mop 
of  black  hair,  the  aforementioned  mustache,  a  de- 
cidely  handsome  face  with  ''melting  eyes,"  which 
literally  say  "how  can  you  resist  me"  when  he  sees 
a  pretty  girl  looking  his  way.  In  the  presence  of 
men  he  assumes  the  air  of  a  superior  mortal,  and 
these  people  fall  for  it.  He  was  the  guest  of  the 
Jockey  Club  this  afternoon,  and  came  in  wearing  a 
Judge  McKenna  hat  tilted  at  just  the  right  angle 
to  emphasize  his  romantic  beauty.  Gray  silk  gloves 
completed  his  glass  of  fashion  attire,  and  no  doubt 
we  were  supposed  to  see  in  him  a  living  illustra- 
tion of  what  socialism  will  do  for  the  world.  Por- 
tions of  the  Littany  came  in  handy  just  here.  There 
is  a  banquest  at  the  hotel  in  his  honor  tonight,  and 
I  joined  the  crowd  in  the  doorway  to  hear  his 
speech.  His  voice  was  musical  as  the  zephyrs  of 
Samarkand,  and  W.  J.   B.  never  pleaded  for  free 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      61 

silver  with  finer  inflection.  He  told  us  socialism 
was  not  a  '*dijo"  to  tie  about  man's  neck,  but  a 
principle  that  will  establish  a  "generoso  Utopia" 
which  would  intensify  the  patriotism  of  the  citizens 
of  this  glorious  republic,  and  make  possible  social 
justice.  Then  with  a  graceful  emphasis  he  announc- 
ed that  Germany  had  transplanted  whole  cities  from 
Belgium,  but  the  autocrats  of  this  country  sought 
to  establish  a  far  greater  slavery  here.  The  curious 
feature  is  that  all  during  the  speech,  waiters  in  "at- 
tendant-on-royalty  red  coats"  with  white  knee 
breeches,  were  pouring  champagne,  just  as  the 
wicked  do  when  they  foregather.  As  before  remark- 
ed, I  cannot  make  the  fellow  fit  into  his  general 
scheme.  When  he  resumed  his  seat  "amidst  great 
applause"  as  announced  in  the  morning  papers,  T 
left  the  crowTled  doorway  for  a  walk  wdiich  ex- 
tended to  the  great  hill  back  of  the  railroad  sta- 
tion, where  I  was  able  to  look  down  over  the  sleep- 
ing city.  A  full  moon  was  shining,  and  a  sight  of 
her  world-old  radiance  carried  me  back  over  the 
centuries.  Perhaps  on  just  such  a  night  the  captive 
Inca  saw  this  same  glorious  moon  through  his 
barred  window,  and  sent  out  a  prayer  to  his  god 
that  he  might  escape  the  fate  in  store  for  him. 
Perhaps  near-by  a  dark  skinned  princess  sat  at  her 
window  and,  by  the  light  of  this  same  moon,  knott- 
ed her  love  letter  to  drop  into  the  waiting  hands 
below,  there  to  be  read  and  found  as  tender  as  the 
scented  missive  the  Romeo  of  today  finds  in  his 
morning  mail. 


62      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

THE  CITY  OF  THE  KINGS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  morning  papers  have  big  headlines  telling  us 
an  "Americano  del  Norte"  has  reached  the  Azores 
in  a  flying  machine,  and  we  pilgrims  from  the 
States  feel  quite  jubilant  over  the  event.  "Don 
Pepe"  had  celebrated  with  nine  scotch  and  sodas 
before  he  got  his  coffee.  There  is  excitement  in  the 
air  on  all  sides,  for  the  presidential  election  began 
yesterday  and  I  was  warned  to  keep  under  cover 
from  six  P.  M.  Saturday  to  Tuesday  morning,  or 
take  to  the  tall  timbers.  There  not  being  any  tall 
timbers  within  thirty  miles,  I  accepted  an  invitation 
to  inspect  the  line  of  the  Liman  and  Lurin  Valley  R. 
R.,  and  visit  the  ruins  of  Pachacamac.  Ottiker  was 
host,  and  the  party  consisted  of  Moser,  the  Ameri- 
can Steel  Product  Co.  representative,  Luxmore  and 
Narin  of  the  Bachus  &  Johnson  Co.,  "Don  Pepe"  of 
the  Rice,  Stix  Co.,  of  St.  Louis,  and  myself.  I  may 
remark  in  passing  that  it  was  what  could  be  safely 
called  a  "bunch."  We  left  town  fully  equipped  for 
the  picnic,  having  all  the  accessories.  Shortly  af- 
ter leaving  the  station  we  passed  between  banks  of 
filth  piled  thirty  feet  high  on  each  side  of  the  track. 
It  is  the  accumulation  of  centuries  and  is  a  feeding 
place  for  hundred  of  disreputable  looking  vultaies. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      63 

Taking  it  altogether,  it  was  one  of  the  most 
abominable  sights  I  have  ever  looked  upon.  This 
certainly  explodes  the  germ  theory,  for  the  germ 
theory  and  the  city  of  Lima  could  not  exist  at  the 
same  time  and  place.  Our  first  stop  was  at  the 
Arsenal,  and  it  is  a  picuresque  building.  We  caught 
a  brief  glimpse  of  soldiers  on  dress  parade,  and 
heard  martial  music  as  we  pulled  out;  this  time 
between  high  mud  walls  surrounding  cotton  fields 
and  corn  fields.  One  specially  high  and  well  made 
wall  enclosed  tons  of  river  bed  stones,  and  broken 
rock.  I  cannot  figure  out  why  this  rock  pile  was 
so  carefully  guarded. 

We  were  soon  beyond  the  irrigated  area  and 
crossing  a  barren  desert.  The  wind  had  "marcell- 
ed" the  surface  of  the  sand,  and  the  eflfect  was 
beautiful.  Back  to  the  foot-hills  we  were  approach- 
ing stretched  miles  upon  miles  of  this  decorated 
sand,  with  a  frame  of  ochre  colored  mountains  on 
three  sides ;  some  casting  dark  shadows  on  the 
yellow  sands,  and  others  cloud-capped.  It  would 
have  made  a  stage  setting  for  the  "Garden  of  Allah" 
by  introducing  a  camel  or  two.  We  soon  began  to 
wind  around  the  foot-hills  and  through  the  cuts,  in 
our  ascent,  until  we  were  permitted  to  look  down 
on  the  beautiful  valley  of  Lurin.  From  the  edge 
of  the  sand  (and  this  margin  was  as  clearly  de- 
fined as  if  walled)  on  to  the  sea  was  an  area  of  rich- 
est vegetation.  We  saw  veritable  cotton  trees,  the 
stalks  being  in  some  cases  fully  ten  feet  high,  and 


04      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SA;MPI.E    CASE 

this  produces  the  finest  cotton  grown  in  the  world. 
We  looked  out  over  corn  fields,  banana  plantations 
and  orange  groves  in  luxuriant  fruit  and  foliage, 
w4th  strange  trees  and  stranger  flowers  every- 
where. It  was  a  remarkable  picture.  Back  of  us 
the  cloud-capped  mountains,  around  lis  the  barren 
sands,  before  us  the  vivid  green  valley  and  beyond 
this  the  blue  waters  of  the  Pacific,  out  of  which 
arose  numerous  high  cone-shaped  islands,  made 
snow-white  by  guano  deposits,  and  over  it  all  a  sky 
as  blue  as  ever  bent  over  Naples  in  June.  I  will  not 
soon  forget  it.  Swinging  around  a  mile  loop  we 
passed  beyond  the  first  chain  of  foot-hills  and  began 
to  descend  a  sharp  grade.  Along  this  section  there 
were  at  least  fifty  beautiful  trees  known  as  the 
Huarango,  and  it  is  said  they  will  thrive  where  cacti 
would  die  for  lack  of  moisture.  This  seems  strange 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  cacti  is  commonly  supposed 
to  be  the  shrubbery  used  to  adorn  the  "sunken  gar- 
dens around  the  gateway  to  hades."  Later  we  cross 
an  area  covered  with  a  growth  similar  to  the  Karoo 
bush  of  South  Africa.  I  remember  going  out  on  the 
veldt,  after  they  had  had  their  first  rain  in  two 
years,  and  the  Karoo  ])ush  had  taken  on  the  same 
shade  of  brilliant  green  shown  by  this  plant.  Ottiker 
had  written  the  station  agent  to  have  burros  at  our 
stopping  place,  but,  although  the  letter  was  mailed 
three  days  before,  it  was  handed  to  the  agent  as 
he  boarded  the  train  at  Lima  to  go  out  with  us. 
This,  of  course,  put  us  in  for  a  dusty  walk,  but  tw^o 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      65 

of  US  had  already  *'trod  the  hot  sands  of  the  desert," 
so  we  naturally  did  not  mind  it.  There  was  one 
burro  at  the  station,  homeward  bound  with  a 
mountain  of  firewood  piled  on  his  back.  Moser 
took  a  running  jump  in  an  effort  to  mount  the  pile, 
but  only  succeeded  in  spilling  things  ;  the  donkey 
and  he  finally  emerging  from  the  tangled  wreck. 
The  boy  driver  seemed  to  get  peevish  over  the 
affair,  but  when  Moser  slipped  him  a  peso  his  splut- 
tering "carambas"  gave  place  to  many  "gracias". 
It  then  dawned  on  some  of  the  bright  intellects  of 
the  party  to  commandeer  the  outfit  and  put  the 
donkey  boy  in  charge  of  the  commissary  depart- 
ment. He  balked  at  first,  but  we  issued  an  in- 
surance policy  on  his  woodpile  and  showed  him  the 
neck  of  a  beer  bottle.  After  that  it  was  only  a 
question  of  price,  which  we  soon  arranged.  We 
urged  Moser  to  hold  on  to  the  rope  along  with  the 
boy,  which  he  did  until  confidence  was  established. 
I  find,  after  all,  there  is  a  use  for  everything,  T 
had  been  wondering  why  these  endless  walls  had 
been  built.  Today  I  found  out.  The  road  from 
the  station  to  the  ruins  of  Pachacamac  is  walled 
on  each  side  ;  the  walls  ranging  from  three  to  five 
feet  in  height,  and  perhaps  one  foot  across  the  top. 
When  one  remembers  the  very  last  rain  occurred 
here  just  after  the  first  sea-going  vessel  was  launch- 
ed by  old  Noah,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  road  dried 
the  people  began  to  travel  it,  they  can  readily  see 
there  is  some  dust  likely  to  exist.    This  wall  made 


GO      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

a  very  good  pathway  for  us  and  we  stuck  to  it 
faithfully.  We  had  to  wait  until  the  donkey  got 
on  ahead  lest  the  dust  he  and  his  driver  kicked  up 
smother  us.  But  even  the  dust  has  its  economic 
value,  as  the  following  episode  will  prove.  Walking 
the  wall,  Indian  file,  we  came  to  a  place  where  it 
was  fully  six  feet  high,  and  here  we  found  a  peon. 
He  was  thoroughly  soaked  and  beautifully  poised, 
whom  his  friends  had  evidently  hung  out  to  dry, 
blocking  the  way.  We  could  easily  have  stepped 
across  him,  but  each  of  us  declared  we  were  super- 
stitious. Prods  with  walking  sticks  with  more  or 
less  lurid  conversational  accompaniment  failed  to 
make  the  least  impression.  Soon  Don  Pepe  helped 
him  down.  The  two  feet  of  dust  into  which  he  fell 
is  all  that  saved  him  from  being  busted.  He  awoke 
sufficiently  to  start  swearing,  and  he  seemed  to 
be  only  fully  awakening  to  the  full  possibilities 
along  this  line  of  mental  effort  two  hours 
later  when  we  returned.  W'e  decided  it  was  be- 
cause no  friendly  hand  had  helped  him  back  on 
the  wall.  Two  of  us  volunteered  this  service  to  him, 
but  it  only  brought  forth  a  line  of  comments  that 
would  have  made  the  father  of  swearing  regret  he 
had  ever  started  such  a  game. 

We  found  the  ruins  of  Pachacamac  very  exten- 
sive and  intensely  interesting.  Immense  mounds 
that  were  evidently  community  houses,  and  the 
walls  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun.  Surrounding  the 
ruins   on   three   sides  the   gfreat  wall   fortifications 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      ()7 

are  easily  traced.  Ottiker  and  I  dug  around  the 
base  of  the  comumnity  house  and  unearthed  a  skull 
on  which  the  hair  w^as  yet  clinging  in  places.  All 
about  were  pieces  of  broken  pottery,  human  bones, 
and  the  cotton  fabric  the  bodies  were  wrapped  in 
for  burial.  I  picked  up  a  piece  of  the  cloth,  a  sec- 
tion of  water  jar,  and  the  skull,  intending  to  bring 
them  home  with  me,  but  when  we  overtook  Moser 
he  urged  me  to  discard  them  at  once  ;  he  assvired 
me  the  handling  of  these  things  was  extremely 
dangerous.  The  place  is  gruesome  with  its  crumb- 
ling walls  and  ghastly  skulls,  and  utter  loneliness, 
for  there  is  no  habitation  nearby.  But,  at  one  time, 
it  had  doublets  been  a  place  of  wonderful  beauty, 
for  it  was  situated  on  a  prominent  hill  overlooking 
the  sea,  with  what  had  been  a  fertile  valley,  and 
well  cultivated,  for  a  stream  of  life-giving  water 
runs  through  it.  We  camped  by  this  stream  for 
lunch  ;  all  jolly  well  hungry,  as  Don  Pepe  put  it, 
and  we  were  soon  busy  w^ith  eggs,  tongue,  biscuit 
and  beer.  We  gathered  the  fragments,  and,  after 
filling  our  donkey  boy  with  same,  we  started  on  our 
return  trip.  Back  along  the  dusty  roads,  this  time 
with  Moser  on  the  mule,  and  the  rest  of  us  trail- 
ing along  on  top  of  the  w^all  to  the  point  of  original 
departure.  Finding  it  was  two  hours  until  train 
time,  we  decided  to  walk  to  the  town,  and  were 
well  repaid,  hot  and  dusty  though  it  was.  Lurin  is 
a  typical  Cholo  Pueblo.  Making  our  way  past  a 
towering  wall  we  came  to  the  plaza.     This  was  a 


68      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

bare  plot  of  ground  with  not  even  a  blade  of  grass 
to  be  seen  in  the  way  of  growth.  Low  Avattle  adobe 
huts  surround  the  plaza,  and  these  are  either  flat 
roofed  or  roofless  as  the  owner  elects,  it  not  mak- 
ing much  difference  either  way,  except  the  advant- 
age the  roofless  gives  in  way  of  light  and  air,  for 
it  never  rains  here.  The  buildings  are  guiltless  of 
flooring  other  than  the  packed  earth,  and,  so  far  as 
I  could  see,  almost  devoid  of  furniture.  Small  and 
wretched  as  the  town  is  there  is  nevertheless  a  big 
church  facing  the  plaza.  It  was  built  in  1798.  and 
being  of  adobe  also,  it  has  begun  to  crumble  badly 
in  places.  Perhaps  a  thousand  years  hence  some 
visitors  from  Mars  will  be  pawing  around  and  won- 
dering what  sort  of  people  lived  here  and  worshipr 
ped  the  hideous  image  found  in  the  ruins  of  their 
temple. 

There  was  an  elaborate  beer  garden  nearby  the 
church,  and  it  was  doing  a  thriving  business.  Games 
were  being  played,  and  we  watched  a  bowling 
match  for  some  time.  We  met  the  village  school 
marm  as  we  left  the  beer  garden,  and  wxre  invited 
to  visit  the  school  house.  It  was  a  pitiful  outfit. 
Rude  desks  and  benches,  cut  and  scratched  just  as 
our  country  desks  and  stools  were  in  the  old  days, 
showing  that  boys  are  the  same  destructive  animals 
the  wide  world  over.  The  desks  were  arranged  on 
each  side  of  the  wall,  to  the  right  for  the  boys,  and 
to  the  left  for  girls.  The  teacher's  desk  at  one  end, 
and  an  old-time  square  piano  at  the  other.    I  think 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      69 

it  was  Knabe's  original  sample.  Moser  sat  down  and 
began  to  play  "Nobody  knows  how  dry  I  am"  which, 
by  the  way,  would  make  an  excellent  national  an- 
them for  that  country.  We  all  joined  in,  and  the 
schoolmistress  must  have  comprehended  the  bur- 
den of  our  song,  for  when  it  ended  she  immediate- 
ly invited  us  to  her  apartment  back  of  the  school 
room,  and  opened  beer  for  the  crowd.  In  the  mean- 
time Ottiker  and  I  became  rivals  for  her  favor,  each 
trying  to  outdo  the  other  in  making  love  to  her.  He 
was  a  generous  rival,  for  he  would  help  me  out 
when  I  would  get  stalled.  I  think  my  heroic  strug- 
gle with  the  language  must  have  excited  her  pity, 
for  she  gave  me  her  hand  in  token  of  surrender, 
and  I  immediately  swore  allegiance  to  her  beauty. 
Voting  booths  were  erected  on  three  sides  of  the 
square,  and  I  think  Don  Pepe  tried  to  stuff  the  bal- 
lot box  at  one  of  them.  We  evidently  made  a  hit 
with  the  teacher,  for  we  found  her  at  the  station  to 
bid  us  good-bye.  With  her  was  one  of  the  very 
prettiest  little  cholas  I  have  ever  seen.  I  am  sorry 
to  say  we  immediately  forgot  our  first  love,  and  all 
that  saved  us  from  serious  complications  was  the 
Avarning  call  of  the  locomotive  whistle,  urging  us 
to  get  aboard.  But  it  was  a  fickle  crowd,  for  Otti- 
ker was  wig-wagging  to  another  pretty  little  chola 
in  less  than  half  an  hour.  During  the  day  we  had 
sampled  some  queer  native  products.  There  were 
pacaes,  a  giant  bean  like  our  sweet-bean  of  the 
States  only  the  seeds  have  more  and  better  pulp 


TO      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

around  them.  Granadillos,  which  are  first  cousin 
to  the  pomegranate,  but  a  much  finer  fruit.  We 
finally  drank  some  native  concoction  called  "Chi- 
cha."  (I  was  cautioned  to  be  careful  in  spelling 
this  word.)  In  the  old  days  the  decrepit  old  women 
of  the  tribe  who  were  unable  to  do  any  other  work 
were  detailed  to  "chew"  sugar  cane,  making  a 
pulp.  After  filling  a  pot  with  this  mash  they  added 
water  and  let  it  ferment.  It  was  then  drawn  oflf 
and  bottled  for  use.  I  had  to  be  convinced  this 
practice  no  longer  prevailed  before  they  induced  me 
to  try  it.  The  stuff  is  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste, 
but  if  it  was  the  drink  at  issue  in  the  U.  S.  there 
Avould  be  no  need  of  a  fight  over  prohibition.  And 
so  we  came  back  over  the  velvety  sands,  past  the 
"Valley  of  Delight"  whilst  the  setting  sun  shed  a 
golden  splendor  over  all  the  wonderful  scene.  The 
beauty  of  it  will  stay  with  me  for  many  days,  and  I 
think  it  will  be  chiefly  because  of  the  awful  con- 
trasts. I  had  seen  wretched  habitations  occupied 
by  the  charcoal  burners  in  the  mountains  of  Porto 
Rico,  and  some  rather  modest  houses  along  the 
Zambesi  in  South  Africa  and  back  of  the  town  of 
Zanzibar,  but  these  places  were  almost  palatial  com- 
pared with  the  shacks  I  saw  along  the  railroad  to 
Lurin.  Nor  will  I  ever  forget  the  station  agent's 
home  at  Lurin.  Any  self-respecting  pig  would 
have  grunted  a  vigorous  protest  had  he  been  penned 
in  such  a  place,  and  yet  he  showed  it  to  me  with 
seeming  pride. 


AROUNa  SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      71 

The  Peruvian  corporation,  which  operates  the 
Central  R.  R.  of  Peru,  took  over  this  road  eighteen 
months  ago,  and  are  operating  it  successfully.  It 
had  been  built  and  run  by  the  government,  and  had 
shown  a  loss  of  $250.00  per  month  since  its  con- 
struction. These  figures  were  reversed  the  first 
month  and  the  road  now  returns  a  revenue  of  two 
thousand  dollars  per  month  to  the  government,  less 
fifteen  per  cent  to  the  corporation.  The  road  and 
rolling  stock  are  in  first-class  condition,  all  of 
which  would  indicate  that  government  ownership 
and  operation  does  not  work  any  better  down  there 
than  it  has  at  home,  so  far  as  a  profit  is  concerned. 
As  stated,  the  road  is  in  first-class  condition,  but 
there  is  room  for  terminal  improvements,  as  shown 
by  the  station  agent's  quarters.  When  we  reached 
the  city  last  night  we  found  it  under  martial  law, 
with  troop  of  cavalry  patrolling  the  streets,  and 
the  approach  to  the  plaza  blocked  on  all  sides  by 
almost  solid  lines  of  soldiers.  We  assumed  an  air 
of  great  importance,  and  literally  pushed  our  way 
past  the  troops,  stopping  at  the  Union  Club  on  our 
way  to  the  hotel.  We  did  not'  think  it  worth  while 
to  risk  ^oing  to  the  Exposition  where  we  usually 
dine,  for  shots  were  being  exchanged,  and  the  pa- 
trol was  evidently  on  the  job,  as  we  could  hear  it 
clattering  by  as  we  sat  at  dinner  behind  heavy 
storm  shutters.  I  expected  to  see  a  list  of  casual- 
ties in  the  morning  papeu,  but  if  anyone  got  hurt 
no  mention  was  made  of  it.  It  was  considered  some- 


72      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

what  risky  to  kite  around  much  today,  but  I  had 
been  told  about  the  attractive  trip  to  Chorrillos, 
and  as  Smith  was  willing  to  take  chances  we  board- 
ed the  train  at  1 :30  for  the  excursion.  Just  here  let 
me  say  I  have  seldom  seen  better  service  than  is 
given  by  the  Lima  Street  Car  Line,  and  the  rolling 
stock  in  the  suburban  service  is  not  only  well  eqiup- 
ped  but  the  cars  make  good  speed.  We  followed  the 
coast  line  south,  crossing  a  fertile  valley  and  pass- 
ing through  two  beautiful  little  towns.  Milleflores 
and  Barranco  are  resident  sections  of  Lima,  and  are 
extremely  attractive.  There  are  splendid  shade 
trees,  brilliant  flower  gardens,  and  beautiful  homes 
in  both  towns,  and  Chorrillos  is  even  more  attrac- 
tive because  of  its  location.  The  coast  line  makes 
a  deep  curve  from  La  Puento,  making  quite  a  bay ; 
the  beach  terminating  in  a  promontory  rising  per- 
haps 800  feet.  A  serpentine  pathway  is  cut  in  the 
face  of  the  bluff,  leading  to  the  beach,  and  the  trip 
is  well  worth  while.  A  stream  of  water  follows 
the  path,  and  morning  glories,  taking  sustenance 
from  this  life-giving  source,  climb  thirty  feet  in 
places,  making  a  pleasing  contrast  to  the  grim 
walls  that  face  the  ocean  with  so  bold  a  front. 

I  have  never  seen  anything  more  fantastic  than  is 
the  rock  mass  at  the  foot  of  this  promontory.  The 
ceaseless  pound  of  the  waters  has  cut  deep  inden- 
tations, and  these  are  constantly  being  filled  with  a 
snow-white  foam.  The  rocks  being  inky  black, 
the  effect  is  lovely,  and  the  picture  held  us  silent 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      73 

for  a  time.  Returning  from  the  beach  we  climbed 
to  the  top  of  the  promontory  where  we  admired  the 
well  executed  heroic  statue  of  the  Virgin.  This 
spot  marks  the  Waterloo  of  Peru,  for  on  these  sur- 
rounding hills  was  fought  the  losing  battle  against 
the  Chilians.  The  hillside  is  covered  with  statues 
and  shrines  erected  to  about  every  saint  on  the 
calender,  but  whether  they  are  to  invoke  strength 
to  renew  the  fight,  or  patience  to  bear  defeat,  I 
cannot  tell.  We  stopped  for  a  moment  to  watch  the 
progress  of  a  crap  game  between  three  little  cholos. 
They  were  shooting  for  tin  beer  caps,  and  one  little 
rascal  must  have  worked  loaded  dice  on  the  others, 
for  he  had  a  pile  of  winnings  a  foot  high.  When  we 
got  back  to  the  city  we  found  cavalry  and  infantry 
stationed  everywhere,  and  all  business  places  closed 
tight.  There  was  not  even  a  light  in  front  of  the 
moving  picture  palaces,  and  the  booze  houses  look- 
ed as  if  they  were  hermetically  sealed.  Shortly 
after  we  arrived  in  town  the  trains  stopped  run- 
ning and  by  eight  o'clock  the  streets  were  absolutely 
deserted,  save  for  one  newsboy  whom  I  heard  call- 
ing an  extra  giving  the  results  of  the  election,  but 
trade  was  not  brisk,  for  there  was  no  one  to  buy. 
The  winning  party  did  not  let  a  "cheep"  be  heard 
from  them,  for  I  suppose  one  "viva  la  nuevo  presi- 
dente"  would  have  started  a  revolution.  So  far  as 
I  can  size  up  the  situation.  President  Lequia  can. 
have  his  job,  for  it  looks  as  if  he  would  have  to 
pack  an  arsenal  to  hold  it  successfully.    They  cap- 


74      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH    A   SAMPLE   CASE 

tured  him  some  years  ago  when  he  was  president 
before  and  dropped  him  in  a  sand-pit,  from  which 
he  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  rescued,  but  they 
may  cover  him  up  the  next  time,  and  leave  him 
there. 

My  visit  to  Lima  has  been  dehghtful,  and  one 
could  not  find  a  better  bunch  of  good  fellows  on 
earth.  Some  people,  coming  here  for  a  day  or  two, 
have  written  unkindly  about  the  American  and  Eng- 
lish colony  and  it  would  be- best  if  there  were  just 
a  little  less  hospitality  dispensed,  for,  while  the 
j-ecipients  come,  accept  and  pass  on,  the  dispensee 
remains  in  constant  session,  which  may  ultimattfh' 
strain  the  boiler. plates  a  bit.  But  they  are  good 
Indians  and  certainly  gave  me  a  royal  time.  I  leave 
with  regret,  and  look  forward  to  my  return  next 
year,  for  my  connection  with  the  W.  R.  Grace  Com- 
pany indicates  a  very  successful  business  in  both 
belting  and  babbitt  metal.  I  called  on  the  trade 
with  their  salesmen,  and  introduced  my  line,  secur- 
ing generous  sample  orders,  and  I  am  sure  the  ac- 
counts will  be  well  cared  for.  Being  accredited  to 
Grace  &  Company  made  my  work  very  simple,  and 
I  will  enjoy  this  great  advantage  up  and  down  both 
coasts.  So  all  things  point  to  unqualified  success. 
I  found  the  city  crowded  with  American  salesmen 
with  everything  from  petticoats  to  patent  medi- 
cines, and  buyers  in  various  houses  whom  I  talked 
with  told  me  their  men  were  having  hard  sledding. 
This  was  confirmed  by  the  expression  seen  on  some 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE       (f) 

of  the  faces  at  the  dinner  hour.  Whenever  I  saw 
a  poor  sun-of-a-gun  with  a  frown  on  his  face,  and  a 
big  whiskey  and  soda  alongside,  I  knew  the  story 
and  felt  sorry.  I  fear  some  of  our  firms  in  the 
States  are  ''jumping  at  conclusions"  and  are  riding 
for  a  fall,  but  I  have  not  been  in  the  field  long 
enough  to  express  an  opinion  of  value.  Four  months 
froni  now  I  will  be  better  posted  and  may  say  some- 
thing that  may  be  helpful,  so  I  will  finish  this  chap- 
ter with  a  word  in  general.  I  got  out  early  this 
morning  and  went  through  the  big  market  house, 
and  it  repaid  the  effort,  for  it  was  a  strange  sight. 
Evidently  they  depend  on  dogs  to  keep  the  meat 
market  clean,  and  dogs  of  various  degrees  and  pedi- 
grees were  busy  under  and  between  the  stalls  in 
their  work  as  scavengers.  Other  dirt  looked  as 
if  it  had  accumulated  for  ages,  with  no  effort  to 
clean,  other  than  to  push  it  under  the  stalls  when  it 
obstructs  the  runway.  I  saw  about  all  the  fruits 
and  vegetables  we  are  familiar  with  in  the  States, 
and  some  I  know  nothing  about.  It  was  not  cal- 
culated to  increase  ones  appetite  to  walk  through 
the  place.  Dirty  squaws  and  dirtier  bucks  were 
pawing  over  the  meat,  testing  its  toughness  with 
their  thumb  nail,  like  market  women  test  squash  to 
see  if  it  is  fresh.  In  fact  there  are  several  things 
it  is  not  kind  to  discuss,  and  the  Lima  market  hap- 
pens to  be  one  of  them.  There  are  other  offences 
I  wish  to  speak  of,  chief  of  which  is  the  nerve- 
racking  police   whistles  that  seem  to  be  eternally 


TG      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

passing  along  a  signal.  I  am  told  they  still  use  the 
old  dungeons  far  under  ground  for  very  wicked 
people,  and  one  would  be  almost  tempted  to  commit 
murder  (of  a  policeman)  if  they  would  promise  in- 
carceration in  one  of  the  deep  cells  where  the  chorus 
of  whistles  could  not  be  heard. 

Many  odd  hours  were  spent  in  the  churches,  and 
I  want  to  protest  against  some  of  the  things  T  saw 
in  them.  In  wandering  around  the  world  and  stray- 
ing into  places  of  w^orship  as  I  have  a  habit  of 
doing  I  have  seen  some  strange  efforts  made  in 
order  to  portray  adoration  of  Christ,  but  never 
have  I  gazed  upon  such  gruesome  sights  as  are 
shown  in  the  Lima  churches.  Figures  with  hide- 
ous faces  slashed  and  blood  besmeared  until  to 
look  upon  them  is  to  insure  a  nightly  recurrence 
of  horrid  dreams.  How  in  heaven's  name  they  can 
identify  these  images  with  the  beautiful  and  lov- 
ing Jesus  is  beyond  me.  He,  who  tenderly  lift- 
ed the  child  to  his  knee  and  bade  His  disciples  to 
"consider  the  lilies"  surely  cannot  subscribe  to  a 
worship  conducted  in  a  chamber  of  horrors,  such 
as  these.  I  am  thankful  to  say  I  found  one  rare 
exception.  The  Church  of  Santo  Domingo  is 
really  beautiful.  The  shrines  artistic,  and  the 
paintings  far  superior  to  the  average  picture  seen 
in  Central  or  South  American  churches.  There 
was  not  one  thing  to  offend  the  eye  or  sicken  the 
soul.  It  is  to  be  noted  also  that  in  this  church  I 
found  the  only  number  that  could  be  considered  a 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      77 

body  of  worshippers,  which,  to  my  mind,  is  con- 
vincing proof  that  these  good  people  prefer  the 
clean  and  beautiful  if  permitted  to  choose.  We  are 
told  there  are  sixty-seven  churches  within  the  city 
limits,  and  I  visited  eight,  any  one  of  which  I  will 
guarantee  could  take  care  of  all  the  church  attend- 
ance of  the  city.  It  is  doubtful  if  anywhere  on 
earth  there  are  such  great  facilities  for  worship 
and  so  little  real  religion.  For,  judging  by  our  stand- 
ards, there  is  precious  little  of  the  real  thing  here, 
for  one  steps  over  a  lottery  vender  in  order  to  en- 
ter the  sacred  portals  of  the  churches,  and  the 
Sabbath  day  is  either  given  over  to  a  bull  fight  or 
a  horse  race.  However,  with  it  all,  they  are  a 
courteous,  lovable  people,  and  with  the  exception  of 
paying  forty  cents  in  real  hard  cash  for  a  cake  of 
Pear's  soap,  which  cost  the  pirate  who  sold  it  to 
me  not  more  than  fifteen  cents,  I  have  no  kick  com- 
ing. But  I  have  found  out  why  the  steamship 
company  gave  one  a  towel  when  one  came  on 
board  and  expect  it  to  do  duty  for  the  entire  cruise. 
Hotels  the  same  way.  The  fourth  day  out  from 
Colon  on  the  Ay  sen  I  refused  to  be  any  longer 
attached  to  my  towel  or  napkin.  At  first  I  was 
rather  peevish  over  the  matter,  but  since  I  learn- 
ed the  price  of  soap,  my  only  surprise  is  they  do 
not  "pass  them  along."  Prices  are  high  here. 
Room  in  the  hotel  $3.00  per  day,  bath  and  meals 
extra,  and  everything  else  in  proportion,  except 
street    car    fare,    this    is    two    and    one-half   cents 


iQ      AROFND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

within  the  city  Hmits,  and  but  ten  cents  to  Callao, 
which  is  a  run  of  seven  miles.  The  cars  are  kept 
in  good  condition  and  the  service  is  frequent. 
From  many  sources  I  heard  of  the  disHke  of  the 
Peruvians  for  people  from  the  States,  but  in  no 
case  did  my  experiences  bear  this  out,  but  just  the 
reverse,  for  countless  little  courtesies  were  shown 
me,  and  not  once  was  I  made  to  feel  uncomfortable 
because  I  was  an  alien.  I  made  two  efforts  to  visit 
the  cript  of  the  cathedral  in  order  to  see  the 
mummy  of  Pizarro,  but  each  time  it  was  closed  so 
I  was  unable  to  pay  my  respects  to  his  venerable 
bones.  His  story  has  been  told  many  times  and 
by  gifted  writers,  so  I  will  only  mention  the  bones 
as  being  a  source  of  revenue  for  the  church  he 
built,  so  he  is  still  an  active  contributor.  Next  to 
the  cathedral  the  most  interesting  building  is  the 
museum.  I  spent  half  a  day  inspecting  the  many 
curious  things  that  have  been  gathered  from  the 
tombs  of  the  Incas  and  the  people  who  had  come 
and  gone  before  them,  leaving  no  record  other 
than  crumbling  ruins,  grinning  skulls  and  bits  of 
pottery.  They  were  as  great  a  mystery  to  the 
Inca  as  the  Cliff  Dwellers  are  to  us,  with  nothing 
more  to  tell  who  or  what  they  were,  or  when 
thev  ceased  to  exist. 


iM 


^^a  i 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPI.E   CASE      79 

THE  SAND  DUNES  AND  EL  MISTI. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  golden  rays  of  the  setting  sun  reflected  on 
the  sides  of  San  Lorenzo  gave  it  the  appearance 
of  being  clothed  in  a  mantle  of  yellow  velvet,  and, 
although  absolutely  barren,  it  was  nevertheless 
beautiful  as  w^e  rounded  the  outward  point  for 
Mollendo.  We  soon  were  caught  by  the  great 
green  rollers  that  had  been  gathering  volume  over 
an  area  of  4,000  miles,  and  the  Huasco  began  to 
wallow  her  way  down  the  coast.  It  was  not  long 
before  a  number  of  our  passengers  took  on  that 
''far-a-way  look"  assumed  by  poor  sailors,  and  the 
next  morning  the  decks  were  deserted  except  by  a 
few  old  shellbacks.  We  had  plenty  of  room  to 
promenade,  and  prompt  attention  at  breakfast,  for 
even  Doc.  Grady  did  not  get  up  until  noon,  but  that 
was  because  he  had  attended  a  tea  party  the  night 
before.  In  fact  I  practically  had  the  deck  to  my- 
self all  morning.  The  water  is  still  tinged  with  in- 
fusoria showing  a  distinct  yellow  cast,  but  no 
longer  ropey  as  it  was  north  of  Callao,  nor  are 
the  birds  numerous  down  here.  A  few  big  gulls 
come  on  the  scene  for  a  few  minutes  from  time  to 
time,  and  a  number  of  albatros  wing  along  grace- 
fully,   following   the    rise   and    fall    of   the    weaves. 


80      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

Some  hundred  or  more  small  brown  birds  follower 
the  wake  of  the  ship  until  we  reached  anchorage 
in  Mollendo.  They  shuttled  back  and  forth,  cease- 
lessly darting  to  the  surface  to  pick  up  anything 
in  the  food  line  dropped  from  the  ship.  This  morn- 
ing as  I  came  out  on  deck  I  looked  out  over  the 
water  and  saw  two  black  satin-covered  heads 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  ship's  side.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
vSeal  had  come  out  to  welcome  us  to  their  waters. 
Later  on  we  passed  the  largest  school  of  whales 
I  have  ever  seen.  They  would  come  lazily  to  the 
surface,  send  up  a  snow-white  spray  and  then 
"sound,"  sticking  ten  feet  of  tail  out  of  the  water. 
The  ship  was  fifteen  minutes  passing  them,  and 
there  were  not  less  than  fifty  in  the  party.  If  the 
old  "Cachelot"  had  come  along  there  would  have 
been  lively  times  for  a  few  minutes,  after  the 
crow's-nest  had  called  out  ''there  she  blows."  The 
ship  runs  close  to  shore  for  fifty  miles  before 
reaching  Mollendo,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  the 
rugged  front  presented  by  the  coast  line,  and  the 
drifts  of  alkali  which  made  the  finest  imitation  of 
snow  that  could  be  imagined.  The  illusion  was  a 
duplicate  of  the  Nevada  desert  before  reaching 
Salt  Lake  City. 

Much  has  been  written  about  the  landing  at 
Mollendo,  but  the  half  has  never  been  told,  and 
never  will  be,  for  each  one  landing  there  will  have 
a  different  story.  The  day  was  exceptionally  quiet, 
but  anyone   standing  on  the   quay  looking  out  at 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      81 

the  combers  through  which  we  had  to  pass  to 
reach  the  "gibbett"  would  be  inclined  to  have  a 
queer  feeling  up  their  spine,  for  time  and  again 
seas  came  thundering  in  that  would  have  swamped 
any  small  boat  afloat.  Sometimes  a  week  will  pass 
before  anyone  can  either  leave  or  go  on  board 
ships.  Dr.  Grady  came  ashore  with  us  to  see  that 
we  were  properly  cared  for,  but  hurried  back  while 
the  going  was  good.  We  will  miss  him  much,  for 
not  only  were  his  tales  of  the  hills  interestingly 
told,  but  he  played  a  good  hand  at  bridge,  and 
thereby  helped  to  while  away  the  time  for  our 
party.  We  are  more  than  a  day  late,  and  as  yes- 
terday was  "train  day"  we  will  stay  here  all  night 
and  make  the  trip  by  railroad  auto  car  in  the  morn- 
ing. This  will  be  gratifying  as  an  ofifset  to  our 
stay  here,  for  while  the  accommodations  seem  fair> 
it  is  nevertheless  rather  an  unattractive  place, 
with  nothing  worth  while  after  the  passengers 
have  been  yanked  out  or  dragged  back  into  the 
boats  at  the  landing  place,  but  I  fancy  this  would 
furnish  plenty  of  excitement  at  times. 

There  was  a  hitch  in  the  proceedings,  and  our 
auto  car  ride  up  the  mountains  did  not  material- 
ize, so  we  boarded  the  regular  train  at  noon  for 
Arequipa.  For  perhaps  12  miles  we  followed  the 
shore-line,  and  started  straight  up  the  hill  through 
gravel  bed  cuts  at  first,  then  over  and  around  the 
sand  covered  foot-hills.  These,  in  time,  became 
more  abrupt  and  we  began  to  zizzag  and  loop  in 


82      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

our  reach  upward.  Each  "loop"  and  "zag"  lifting 
us  three  or  four  hundred  feet.  Sometimes  sight 
of  the  ocean  would  be  cut  off,  and  again  we  could 
see  a  stretch  of  twenty  miles,  always  the  line  of 
white  surf  marking  the  edge  and  plainly  visible, 
although  3,000  feet  below,  and  15  miles  away.  Just 
here  we  caught  our  first  glimpse  of  "El  Misti" 
lifting  its  white  nightcap  between  two  mountains 
in  the  east.  Looking  north  we  could  plainly  see 
great  "Coropuna"  towering  heavenward  22,000  feet, 
its  white  snow  crown  gleaming  in  the  sunlight. 
Then  came  a  period  when  we  were  shut  in  by  deep 
cuts  and  clustering  peaks,  seeing  nothing  else 
until  we  rounded  to  and  came  out  on  the  first 
plateau.  We  then  had  before  us  the  most  dazzling 
picture  ever  presented  to  mortal  eyes.  So  far 
as  I  have  seen,  there  is  nothing  like  it  on  earth. 
To  the  east,  for  thirty  miles,  lay  the  red  sand- 
covered  pampa,  apparently  more  lifeless  than  the 
deserts  of  Arizona  or  Nevada,  for  our  first  view 
indicated  a  complete  absence  of  all  life,  either  man, 
bird,  beast  or  plant.  Beyond  the  pampa  is  the 
beginning  of  the  second  step  upward.  This  range 
does  not  rise  high  enough  to  be  snow-clad,  but  its 
sides  are  cut  deeply  with  gorges  that  hold  dark 
shadows,  in  contrast  to  the  general  scheme  of 
brilliant  color  reflected  from  its  face,  these  colors 
ranging  from  delicate  pink  to  the  deepest  purple. 
We  let  our  glance  sweep  over  this  pitiless  barren- 
ness, feast  on  the  color  reflected  from  the  face  of 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE      88 

the  first  range  and  then  rest  on  the  real  sight. 
Dominating  all  is  "El  Misti,"  standing  alone  in  his 
19,000  feet  of  grandeur.  It  is  a  perfect  cone,  and 
looks  mighty  suspicious  to  me,  for  these  perfectly 
beautiful  cones,  like  Pele,  Stromboli  and 
other  outlets  of  the  nether  regions,  now  and  again 
take  a  fool  notion  into  their  heads  to  get  busy, 
and  when  they  do,  a  thousand  miles  or  more  is 
plenty  near  enough  for  safe  observation.  But  like 
all  dangerous  things,  he  is  beautiful,  and  I  am  glad 
to  be  near,  and  would  be  if  lava  was  flowing  down 
his  sides.  To  the  north  of  Misti  stands  the  Two 
Brothers,  each  one  of  which  would  rival  Misti  did 
they  stand  alone,  for  they,  too,  lift  their  heads 
19,000  feet  above  the  sea.  South  of  Misti  is  the 
"Pichu  Fichu"  range ;  a  series  of  spurs  ranging 
around  17,000  feet,  and  high  enough  to  carry  eter- 
nal snows,  but  evidently  the  sides  are  too  abrupt 
to  afford  a  foothold,  and  so  it  shows  a  purple  sur- 
face, with  delicate  traceries  of  white  shining  where 
the  snow  has  found  a  place  to  cling.  It  is  simply 
impossible  to  convey  the  impression  gathered  from 
the  vista.  One  must  see  it,  and  see  it  with  an  eye 
trained  to  take  in  the  glory  of  such  things,  before 
it  can  be  understood,  but  no  man  can  convey  this 
understanding  by  words.  And  all  this  panorama 
was  outlined  against  a  turquoise  sky,  thereby  lend- 
ing further  enchantment  to  the  already  dazzling 
picture.  Sky  and  mountain  were  soon  shut  from 
our  view  by  a   cloud  of  dust   raised  as  the   train 


84      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

Sped  across  the  level  pampa,  and  we  got  no  re- 
lief until  we  reached  "La  Joya".  Here  the  dust 
gave  place  to  a  fine  red  gravel  bed,  and  we  came  in 
contact  w^ith  the  travelling  sands,  which  so  puzzle 
the  scientist  and  pester  the  track  superintendent 
of  the  railroad  company.  These  ''Medanos"  as 
they  are  called,  form  perfect  moons  in  the  first 
quarter,  twenty  to  thirty  feet  between  the  points 
and  eight  to  fifteen  feet  high  in  the  centers.  There 
are  hundreds  of  them  marching  steadily  across  the 
plain  by  the  south  winds,  which  come  to  fill  the 
vacuum  caused  by  heat  engendered  in  this  barren 
stretch.  These  Medanos  form  a  striking  contrast 
to  the  general  surface ;  they  being  composed  of 
pale  gray  sand,  while  the  surface  over  which  they 
travel  is  a  pale  brick  red.  They  maintain  their 
complete  identity,  sending  out  scarcely  a  grain  in 
advance,  and  leaving  not  a  grain  behind;  the  wind 
being  just  strong  enough  to  lift  the  grains  over 
the  top  and  let  them  roll  to  their  places  in  front. 
At  Vitor  we  began  the  real  climb,  making  our 
way  through  deep  cuts  showing  conglomerate, 
with  traces  indicating  the  presence  of  gold,  silver 
and  iron,  but  only  enough  to  stain  the  granite  that 
had  been  partly  fused  by  volcanic  action.  On  up 
we  went,  four,  five,  six  thousand  feet,  finally 
reaching  a  point  where  we  looked  out  over  what 
appeared  to  be  a  great  red  sea,  that  had  been 
caught  in  the  middle  of  a  storm  and  petrified, 
showing  wave  after  wave.    The  train,  at  this  time, 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      85 

was  running  on  a  le3ge  cut  in  the  face  of  the  great 
mountain,  and  as  we  rounded  it  we  were  permitted 
to  look  almost  straight  down,  and,  there  2,500  feet 
below,  was  what  seemed  a  perfect  paradise.  The 
high  mountains  were  shut  from  our  view  at  this 
time,  and  all  around  us  was  the  abomination  of 
desolation,  all  of  which  made  the  picture  of  the 
green  valley  below  all  the  more  intense.  We  play- 
ed hide  and  seek  with  it,  getting  nearer  as  the 
downward  loops  were  made,  until  the  night  closed 
in  and  it  became  a  black  line  below  us.  But  Misti 
and  the  Brothers  beckoned  us  on,  and  at  7  :30  we 
reached  Arequipa,  dirty  as  ash  cats,  but  those  of 
us  who  *'saw  things"  thanked  God  for  the  privilege 
we  had  been  permitted  to  enjoy. 

When  I  awoke  this  morning  and  looked  out  of 
the  window  I  stood  for  a  moment  entranced,  for, 
forming  a  background  to  the  great  cathedral  were 
the  mighty  Brothers,  and  I  bowed  my  head  in 
reverence,  for  I  was  in  the  presence  of  holy  things. 
The  charm  of  this  place  will  hold  me  fascinated 
many  days,  for  the  time  spent  in  a  mild  exploration 
but  confirms  my  first  impression.  Of  course  I  visit- 
ed the  cathedral,  and  it  is  the  first  church  I  have 
been  in  that  had  nothing  but  what  was  pleasing  to 
the  eye,  and  soul-inspiring.  There  are  no  blood- 
stained figures  to  shock  one ;  no  tinsel,  no  fantastic 
gilded  wood  carving,  and  no  expressionless  paint- 
ings to  mar  its  walls.  What  a  contrast  to  the 
church  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  plaza  !     And  this 


86      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

is  worthy  of  special  mention.  Just  inside  the  higli 
iron  fence  is  a  strange  shrine  consisting  of  a  rude 
cross,  the  arms  of  which  are  adorned  with  a  full 
sized  gamecock  on  one  end,  and  on  the  other  is  a 
bowl  and  pitcher.  Hanging  to  one  arm  is  a  Roman 
sword  with  a  wooden  ear  tacked  onto  it,  and  a 
stalk  of  sugar-cane.  On  the  other  arm  is  a  pair 
of  heavy  pliers  and  a  hammer  such  as  Thor  might 
have  wielded.  Tacked  on  where  the  arms  crossed 
is  a  piece  of  white  canvas,  on  which  is  painted 
what  is  doubtless  supposed  to  be  the  head  of  the 
Christ,  with  the  usual  liberal  supply  of  blood  drip- 
ping over  the  sacred  face,  and  below  this  a  monk's 
habit  carved  in  wood  is  suspended  by  a  wire,  and 
on  the  skirt  is  fastened  three  dice.  The  one  above 
indicating  1,  the  other  two  show  4  and  3,  likewise 
the  two  side  views  shov/  5  and  2,  and  6  and  1. 
which  would  indicate  the  artist  as  being  familiar 
with  the  great  "down  South"  game.  Of  course  I 
understood  the  allegory,  but  it  did  not  awaken  any 
feeling  of  reverence.  Neither  did  the  inside  of  the 
church,  for  here  I  found  a  figure  of  the  Christ  with 
no  less  than  35  blood-dripping  wounds  on  His  body 
and  arms. 

We  have  all  heard  of  the  Swiss  Bell  Ringers, 
but  the  impresarios  went  to  the  wrong  place  when 
they  were  in  search  of  talented  all-round  ring- 
ers of  bells.  I  would  put  these  people  against  the 
world  in  that  line.  There  has  not  been  five  minutes 
elapsed   since    the   break   o'day   that   from    one   to 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE      87 

twenty  bells  have  not  been  inflicting-  their  discord- 
ant notes  upon  the  long  suffering  public.  I  looked 
out  from  my  windows  and  watched  the  operator 
in  the  tower  of  the  cathedral  this  morning,  and 
the  operation  was  surely  unique.  He  had  a  dou- 
ble action.  With  one  ha-nd  he  slowly  tolled  a  deep- 
toned  bell,  with  the  other  he  pounded  the  eternal 
daylights  out  of  a  smaller  bell.  One  not  knowing 
would  think  he  was  sounding  a  fire  alarm  or  call- 
ing out  the  militia,  instead  of  bidding  the  faithful 
to  prayers.  The  plaza  opposite  the  cathedral  is 
the  most  attractive  I  have  seen.  A  profusion  of 
palms,  happily  grouped,  and  brilliant  flow^ers  in 
parterres.  It  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  arch- 
ed arcades,  giving  a  covered  street  in. front  of  the 
stores,  and  uniform  style  of  upper  structure  that 
is  beautiful  in  its  dress  of  pink  and  white,  with 
yellow  window  frames  and  shutters. 

In  the  evening  I  walked  to  the  extreme  out- 
skirts of  the  town.  Out  through  the  poor  quarter, 
and  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  seen  such  filth  and 
squallor.  Heaven  help  these  people ;  they  defile 
the  walls  of  their  churches  even  in  the  most  pub- 
lic places.  I  do  not  w^ant  to  criticize,  but  I  am 
convinced  that  if  the  padres  would  take  some  of 
the  time  spent  in  reciting  superficial  prayers  in 
empty  sanctuaries  and  devote  it  to  teaching  these 
poor  devils  how  to  keep  clean,  and,  at  least,  the 
first  principles  of  sanitation,  they  would  come 
nearer  the  Master's  service,  and  surely  contribute 


88      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

largely  to  the  public  health.  Out  past  the  pitiful 
sights  and  away  from  the  odors  I  found  myself 
in  the  immediate  presence  of  "El  Misti."  There 
the  ugly  things  of  the  world  were  forgotten  as  I 
watched  the  shadows  climb  its  purple  sides,  and 
saw  the  snow  catch  a  pink  glow  from  the  setting 
sun.  It  was  almost  dark  when  I  started  back  to 
the  city,  but  I  had  to  stop  for  a  few  minutes  long- 
er, as  Venus  and  Jupiter  are  on  a  visit,  just  as 
they  were  fourteen  years  ago  when  I  watched  their 
love-making  from  a  steamer  in  the  Indian  ocean. 
Now,  as  then,  Venus  is  radiant  as  a  bride  adorned, 
and  if  I  was  old  Jupiter  I  would  speed  up  a  bit. 
Castor  and  Pollox  were  in  position  with  Jupiter 
and  Venus  to  form  a  perfect  square,  and  for  a 
moment  I  thought  of  them  as  the  corner  stones  of 
the  ''city  that  lieth  four-square,  whose  builder  and 
maker  was  God." 

The  evil  odors  were  all  about  me,  and  the  clang- 
ing bells  were  doing  their  utmost  to  make  night 
hideous,  but  I  was  living  in  another  world,  and 
things  of  this  world  had  no  influence  upon  me. 
Had  there  been  train  service  I  would  have  gone  on 
to  La  Paz  much  sooner,  but  there  is  only  one  train 
weekly,  but  charming  acquaintances  here  made 
my  stay  pleasant.  Two  delightful  evenings  were 
spent  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ancieux,  and  Mrs.  Bates 
gave  me  such  a  happy  home  I  would  have  been 
half-glad  if  trains  had  only  gone  out  monthly. 

A  visit  to  the  observatory  last  Tuesday  brought 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE      89 

US  an  invitation  from  Dr.  Hinkley  to  ride  with 
him  the  following  day.  We  started  at  ten  in  com- 
pany with  Dr.  Cone  of  Cambridge  University,  and, 
thanks  to  our  excellent  guide,  made  a  trip  through 
the  great  gorge  of  the  Chile  that  was  certainly  en- 
joyable, and  at  times  thrilling,  for  the  trail  was 
rugged  and  steep  in  places.  The  volcanic  ash  made 
uncertain  the  foothold,  and  our  horses  would  some- 
times get  too  close  and  send  a  small  avalanche 
sliding  down  the  almost  perpendicular  sides  to 
the  river  six  or  seven  hundred  feet  below.  Had 
we  followed,  it  would  have  been  the  "end  of  the 
trail,"  but  we  had  mountain  horses  that  climbed 
like  goats,  and  so  returned  safely.  There  were 
many  places  that  approached  the  sublime,  especial- 
ly when  we  could  lift  our  eyes  from  the  black 
gorge  below  to  the  white  crown  of  Misti.  My 
recent  visit  to  the  Grand  Canon  has  spoilt  me  for 
anything  in  the  way  of  canons,  but  it  was,  never- 
theless, a  trip  well  worth  taking.  Returning  to 
the  Observatory  we  enjoyed  a  good  breakfast. 
(Breakfast  in  this  country  being  any  meal  eaten 
before  7  P.  M.)  Then  Dr.  Cone  and  I  rode  back 
between  the  high  dobe  walls  and  over  the  rOugh 
cobblestones  to  the  city,  where  I  got  busy  with 
some  notes,  intending  to  write  further  on  the  cus- 
toms and  habits  of  the  people,  but  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  the  least  said  the  better,  for  I  have 
never  witnessed  such  a  total  disregard  of  the  com- 
mon decencies.     Whenever  I  come  in  contact  with 


90      x\ROUND   SOUTPI    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

unpleasant  things  I  look  for  the  "compensation," 
and  in  this  case  found  it  in  the  "Quinta  Bates." 
There  was  no  room  for  me  Saturday  night  when  I 
arrived,  but  Tuesday  I  became  the  guest  at  that 
bower  of  beauty.  It  had  been  practically  five 
months  since  I  had  even  looked  at  an  honset-to- 
goodness  bed,  except  the  two  or  three  days  in  New 
York,  the  balance  of  my  nights  being  spent  in 
tropical  hotel  bedrooms  or  steamship  berths,  and 
when  I  felt  the  pillows  and  found  they  had  been 
filled  with  real  feathers  instead  of  a  bloclq  of 
wood,  well,  there  are  times  when  words  fail,  and 
when  I  looked  about  and  saw  the  flower-decked 
dresser  and  writing  desk,  and  the  beauty  of  the 
whole  outfit,  I  decided  I  had  the  better  of  the 
"compensation"  and  forgot  the  sights  and  smells 
of  the  outside  world.  Quinta  Bates  is  an  old  "wall- 
ed in"  Spanish  house,  which  has  been  taken  by 
Mrs.  Bates  and  made  into  a  delightful  home  for 
poor  weary  pilgrims  who  happen  along  this  way, 
and  are  fortunate  enough  to  find  a  room.  Mrs. 
Bates  makes  one  feel  he  is  a  favored  guest  in  a 
private  home  rather  than  a  paying  guest  in  a  pen- 
sion.' There  will  be  many  times  during  the  next 
six  months  when  I  will  close  my  eyes  and  wish  I 
could  open  them  and  see  Misti  from  my  window. 
There  is  not  much  business  here  at  the  present 
time,  but  a  copper  property  has  been  located  near 
here,  which,  if  developed,  w^ill  make  the  town  boom 
at  once.  It  is  a  center  for  hide-buying  and  general 
trading  with  herdsmen,  and  small  farmers. 


AROUND    SOUTH    A^EERKA    WITH    A    SA31PLE    CASE      91 

LAKE  TITICACA. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  we  left  Arequipa  Friday 
morning  and  this  is  only  Saturday.  It  seems  the 
time  is  far  too  short  to  have  crowded  in  the  strange 
sights  we  have  encountered.  The  train  pulled  out 
from  Arequipa  promptly  at  7 :30v  and,  making  a 
wide  circle,  we  began  to  climb  toward  the  peaks 
of  Chachani,  with  glorious  Misti  and  Pichu  Pichu 
dominating  the  foreground.  We  soon  rounded  the 
base  of  Chachani  cutting  off  our  view  of  Pichu 
Pichu,  but  for  hours  Misti  was  in  sight,  and,  while 
seemingly  approaching  Chachani,  we  never  got  any 
nearer.  Finally  we  came  out  on  the  first  table- 
land and  then  got  a  real  view  of  the  great  volcano. 
The  north  side,  being  the  hot  side,  was  almost  free 
from  snow,  and  the  last  flow  of  lava  lay  over  his 
shoulder,  in  color  and  beauty  of  drapery,  like  an 
East  Indian  shawl,  the  fold  effect  being  brought 
about  by  the  shadows  down  his  riven  side.  We 
were  on  a  rugged  platteau  overgrown,  in  places, 
wath  karoo  bush  and  bunch  grass,  and  ringed  about 
by  sun-capped  peaks.  This  field  showed  the  re- 
sult of  the  first  explosion  from  Misti,  or  one  of 
the  Brothers,  for  blocks  of  ryolite,  some  twenty 
feet  square,  were  plentifully  scattered  about ;  it 
being  the  limestone  thrown  out  before  the  intense 


92      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

heat  turned  both  limestone  and  granite  into  a 
flowing  liquid.  When  the  explosion  came,  great 
chasms  were  opened  in  the  earth  miles  long  and 
an  hundred  or  more  feet  wide.  These  chasms,  or 
box  canons,  as  they  are  called,  are  at  this  time  five 
to  six  hundred  feet  deep,  and  when  the  first  shock 
came  old  earth  was  literally  split  open. 

Great  flocks  of  llamas  and  alpacas  covered  the 
low  foot-hills  on  each  side,  and  we  were  also  where 
they  harvest  the  Yarita.  Seen  at  a  distance  it  re- 
sembles giant  toad  stools  and  it  is  of  great  value 
as  fuel.  In  fact  there  are  sections  where  this  and 
llama  dung  are  the  only  means  for  cooking,  and 
twigs  the  size  of  a  lead  pencil  are  very  carefully 
conserved  for  fuel.  The  hotels  are  without  heat, 
and  I  have  been  sleeping  with  nearly  all  my  clothes 
on  during  the  past  week.  There  are  some  fuels 
mentioned  I  do  not  take  kindly  to,  but  I  would 
take  a  chance  about  this  time,  for  I  have  to  stop 
every  few  minutes  to  rub  some  circulation  into 
my  fingers.  Today  I  had  an  electric  stove  brought 
into  my  sitting  room,  but  it  reminds  me  of  the  fire 
kindled  in  my  room  at  the  Queens  Hotel  in  Glas- 
gow. I  was  nearly  perished  with  the  cold,  but  af- 
ter contemplating  it  for  a  minute  I  concluded  a 
poor,  futile  thing  like  that  had  better  be  dead,  so 
I  smothered  it  and  went  to  bed.  I  shall  let  my 
electric  burn,  however,  for  it  has  the  virtue  of 
looking  cheerful,  even  if  it  does  fail  to  make  any 
impression  on  the  surrounding  atmosphere. 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      93 

We  were  soon  past  the  foot-hills,  and  had  begun 
to  climb  the  third  great  step  of  the  Andes.  Every 
cut  we  passed  through  told  a  story  of  the  awful 
forces  that  had  been  let  loose  in  past  ages,  and 
there  is  no  such  vast  area  of  volcanic  desolation  to 
be  found  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  Our 
climb  up  the  third  range  was  not  nearly  so  pictur- 
esque as  the  run  between  Mollendo  and  Arequi])a, 
but  perhaps  we  are  getting  to  look  upon  these 
wonders  of  nature  as  old  stories.  At  any  rate  T, 
no  longer  risked  getting  cross-eyed  by  trying  to 
look  both  ways  at  once.  In  fact  I  read  a  magazine 
until  the  call  announced  we  had  reached  Crucero 
Alto.  This  station  is  14,688  feet,  and  Covert  and 
I  left  the  train  and  took  pictures  in  the  midist  of 
a  family  of  Indians.  They  did  not  pose  readily,  but 
the  conductor  kindly  held  the  train  until  we  got 
them  in  position.  We  were  now  on  the  great 
southern  pampa  of  Peru,  with  a  run  of  nearly  100 
miles  at  an  altitude  of  14,000  feet  and  over.  Whilst 
the  likeness  is  not  exact,  nevertheless  by  substi- 
tuting springt>ok  for  alpacas  and  antelopes  for 
llamas,  with  a  liberal  supply  of  quaint  mirages 
over  the  landscape  I  could  easily  have  fancied  my- 
self again  making  the  trip  from  Bischoff  to  Bloom- 
fontein,  for  the  pampa  of  Peru  and*  the  veldt  of 
South  Africa  are  very  much  alike.  But  there  is 
no  real  likeness,  for  the  pampa  ranges  around 
14,000  feet  while  the  veldt  is  only  five  to  six  hun- 
dred feet  high,  and  the  latter  is  frequently  gicen 


94      AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SA3IPLE    CASE 

with  vegetation.  Another  difference  lies  in  the 
vast  farms  of  the  veldt,  while  here  are  small  "iin- 
cas"  tilled  by  Indians.  They  seem  fat  and  con- 
tented, but  I  do  not  think  there  is  a  dwelling-  place 
on  earth  with  so  little  to  recommend,  unless  it 
may  be  where  the  hairy  men  come  from  in  North- 
ern China.  Many  of  these  *'fincas"  are  owned  by 
absentee  landlords  and  worked  on  shares,  which 
reminds  me  that  even  Sinn  Feiners  would  adnit 
there  were  worse  places  than  Ireland  if  they  could 
have  a  season  down  here. 

About  4  P.  M.,  we  came  to  a  valley  leading 
down  to  Lake  Titicaca,  which  had  rather  j)leasing 
scenery  of  olive  green  hills  on  each  side,  witli 
evidences  of  cultivation,  and  more  numerous  habi- 
tations (heaven  defend  me  for  calling  them  such.) 
Just  after  we  dipped  over  the  edge  and  started 
downhill  we  passed  Lake  Lagunillas  and  Lake  Sara- 
cocha,  and  they  would  have  been  beautiful  had 
the  hills  about  them  not  been  bleak  and  the  shores 
so  barren.  As  it  was,  they  looked  like  two  big 
eyes,  with  no  eyebrows  or  lashes.  It  was  quite 
dark  when  the  train  pulled  in  alongside  the  dock 
at  Puno,  where  a  noisy  horde  of  wild  men  and 
boys  scrambled  on  board  to  grab  hand  baggage. 
They  were  al^out  as  scandalous  a  looking  party  as 
ever  congregated  in  one  group,  but  our  stuff  was 
quickly  and  safely  gotten  on  board  the  Inca.  She 
is  a  1,000  ton  steel  craft,  driven  by  Diesel  en- 
gines.   She  was  brought  up  from  the  coast  in  small 


AROUND    SOI  TIT    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      95 

pieces  and  fabricated  at  Puno.  It  must  have  been 
rather  a  job,  but  it  was  well  done  and  she  slips 
through  the  water  like  a  duck,  with  no  more  fuss 
than  a  duck  would  make.  Captain  Tynan  was  a 
friend  of  Covert's  so  we  got  the  bridal  chambers 
and  spent  a  very  comfortable  night  in  making  the 
149  miles  to  Guaqui.  I  was  up  with  the  first  flush 
of  day,  and,  as  my  window  faced  the  east,  I  watch- 
ed the  sky  grow  crimson  back  of  the  great  snow- 
clad  Bolivian  range.  I  dressed  quickly  and  was 
on  deck  when  the  sun  came  over  the  white  shoul- 
der of  Illampi.  The  waters  of  the  lake  are  steel 
blue,  and  did  not  look  very  alluring.  It  looked  as 
cold  as  charity,  and  no  doubt  was.  The  lake  is 
narjow  at  this  end,  and  the  west  shore  consists  of 
a  range  of  bare  hills,  perhaps  500  feet  high.  There 
is  a  long  mole  at  the  landing-place  with  railroad 
track  running  the  full  length,  and  our  train  was 
waiting.  The  dock  was  crowded  with  a  pictur- 
esque group  of  Indians  in  their  brilliant  plumage 
of  colored  ponchos,  and,  sitting  erect  on  a  horse, 
was  a  perfect  type  of  a  Hun  officer.  If  anyone 
had  yelled  ''Heine"  he  no  doubt  would  have  an- 
swered ;  although  a  Bolivian  had  assured  me  the 
night  before  that  his  country  had  tied  a  can  to 
the  tails  of  all  the  German  officers  that  were  in 
his  country,  but  if  that  fellow  was  not  a  German, 
then  there  had  been  a  scandal  in  his  family.  The 
customs  house  was  perfunctory,  and  we  were  soon 
on  our  way  to  La  Paz,  which  is  one  of  the  real 


96      AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

interesting  cities  of  the  world.  We  began  on  this 
end  of  the  lake  just  where  we  left  off  at  the  other 
end,  and  made  our  way  over  a  brown  pampa  with 
mud  huts  on  either  side.  It  would  have  been  a 
dull  enough  prospect  had  it  not  been  for  the  cathe- 
dral-like mountain  of  lUimani,  which  seemed  to 
rise  from  the  pampa  ahead  of  us.  It  lit  up  the 
scene  with  a  glory  all  its  own,  for  the  sun  glitter- 
ed on  its  icy  sides,  giving  it  the  appearance  of  sil- 
ver against  a  sapphire  sky. 

Five  miles  out  from  Guaqui  is  the  town  of  Tihu- 
anacua,  and  here  are  found  the  oldest  ruins  on  the 
American  continent.  The  most  prominent  is  an 
immense  mound,  walled  at  its  base  with  close  fit- 
ting stones,  showing  skilled  workmanship.  There 
is  part  of  a  wide  stairway  leading  up  from  the 
general  level,  and  on  each  side  is  a  pillar  of  stone, 
cut  from  rock  that  is  found  no  nearer  than  eighty 
miles.  Many  of  these  monoliths  are  scattered 
about,  some  showing  rude  carvings.  One  standing 
near  the  railroad  shows  the  square  outline  of  a 
human  face,  surmounted  with  what  would  seem  a 
massive  crown.  Five  fingers,  all  the  same  length, 
hold  the  stomach,  and  if  there  is  any  expression 
on  the  face  it  would  indicate  a  reason  for  the  posi- 
tion. Around  the  waist  line  is  carved  a  belt,  show- 
ing the  sacred  triangle,  and  the  trouser  legs  show 
alternate  squares,  and  queer  human  faces.  It  evi- 
dently was  a  god  to  these  people,  which  explains 
why   they   did   not   exist   long   enough   to   see   the 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE      97 

coming  of  the  Inca,  for  no  one  would  worship  that 
idol  and  reach  a  ripe  old  age.  Writers  tell  us  the 
same  weird  gods  are  found  on  Easter  Island,  but 
the  mysterious  stones  are  all  that  is  left  of  the 
people  w^ho  bowed  down  before  them.  It  seems  a 
pity  some  move  is  not  made  to  collect  and  pre- 
serve these  interesting  relics  of  a  dead  past,  but 
the  wonderful  stones  are  only  recognized  as  avail- 
able material  for  houses  in  La  Paz  and  for  railroad 
construction.  If  I  ever  visit  the  section  again  it 
would  not  surprise  me  to  see  the  old  idol  smoothed 
off  and  used  as  a  sill  in  the  new  cathedral.  Evi- 
dences of  this  same  civilization  have  been  found  on 
the  Island  of  the  Sun  in  the  middle  of  the  big  lake, 
but  no  where  is  a  key  to  be  found  to  unlock  the 
mysteries  hidden  in  the  unknown  art. 

The  pampa  rises  steadily  from  12,500  feet  at 
Guaqui  to  13,396  feet  at  Alto.  There  it  ends 
abruptly  and  one  looks  over  the  edge  into  a  vast 
canon  over  1,000  feet  deep,  and  at  the  bottom  lies 
the  famous  city  of  La  Paz.  To  look  down  upon  it 
from  the  rim  of  the  canon  is  one  of  the  imost  im- 
pressive sights  imaginable.  The  dust-red  tiles  on 
buildings,  the  green  in  the  public  squares,  the  gray 
wall  back  of  the  city,  in  one  place  2,000  feet  high, 
and  mighty  Illimani  make  a  sublime  picture.  An 
-electric  motor  takes  the  entire  train  down  along 
the  face  of  the  canon  on  a  seven  per  cent  grade  at 
first,  and  later  by  long  sweeping  loops  until  the 
station    is    reached.      I   used   to   inquire    from    Old 


D8      AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

Washington  if  the  bus  brakes  were  working  go- 
ing up  from  the  station  at  Lynchburg,  but  Wash- 
ington's outfit  would  have  gotten  no  passengers 
here,  for  his  brakes  would  not  have  held. 

Records  show  this  became  a  town  about  1190, 
and  was  called  Chiochiabo  by  native  gold  miners, 
who  established  washings  here  in  the  year  1545. 
The  Spanish  cavalier  Mendoza  took  charge  of  the 
gold  situation  and  changed  the  name  to  "La  Ciu- 
dad  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Paz,"  but  La  Paz  is 
all  that  remains  of  the  original  name.  It  was  well 
named  the  *'City  of  Peace"  for  the  old  Dons  were 
efficient  in  establishing  peace  when  they  came  to 
a  place  that  looked  good  to  them,  and  they,  no 
doubt,  established  the  "peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing," as  they  did  throughout  this  unfortu- 
nate country.  It  is  the  center  of  Bolivian  lousiness, 
and  has  made  more  money  than  they  have  use  for 
during  the  past  few  years.  Even  with  the  high 
cost  of  production  they  have  turned  out  tungsten 
at  a  cost  ranging  from  $300.00  to  $850.00  per  ton, 
and  received  as  high  as  $6,200.00  per  ton  for  one 
lot.  The  price  ranged  around  $2,000  per  ton  dur- 
ing the  year  1917.  As  they  were  shipping  from 
300  to  500  tons  each  month,  one  can  figure  there 
are  some  folks  down  there  who  will  contribute 
liberally  to  the  income  tax.  The  largest  tin  mines 
in  the  world  are  located  eight  hours  from  here, 
but  they  are  around  17,000  feet  high,  and,  as  this  is 
mid-winter,  I  will  have  to  pass  them  up,  not  feel- 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SA:\rPLE    CASE      99 

ing  equal  to  the  trip.  Mr.  Byron,  storekeeper  at 
Chuquicaniata,  and  myself  drove  down  the  gulch 
this  morning  through  a  fine  avenue  of  trees  past 
the  ambassadorial  section  to  where  we  could  look 
up  to  the  purple  range  and  get  a  splendid  view  of 
Illimani.  On  our  way  back  I  saw  a  little  Indian 
sitting  in  the  dusty  roadside,  and  made  a  try  for  a 
picture,  which  will  go  into  the  book  if  it  turns  out 
all  right,  for  she  was  pretty  as  could  be,  with  all 
her  dirty  outfit.  After  reaching  the  city  we  in- 
spected one  of  the  markets.  The  venders  sit  on 
the  pavement  with  their  stock  in  trade  in  little 
piles  on  their  ponchos.  If  they  fail  to  disj^ose  of 
their  stock  they  tie  it  up  and  tote  it  back  home.  1 
witnessed  a  sale  today  and  cannot  do  justice  to  the 
deseription,  but  will  try.  First  let  me  say  a  word 
about  the  useful  poncho.  It  is  a  blanket  with  a 
hole  in  the  center  for  the  head  to  go  through,  and 
is  so  worn  during  the  day ;  the  women  making  a 
market  basket  or  baby  carriage  out  of  the  back 
end,  as  occasion  demands.  Well,  an  Indian  squaw 
came  up  to  the  general  merchandise  stall  with  her 
poncho  a  la  market  basket.  She  held  it  open  as 
she  made  known  her  wants  to  the  market  woman 
who  skillfully  shot  her  sales  into  the  bag  on  top 
of  a  ragged  piece  of  meat  that  had  been  purchased 
elsewhere.  There  was  no  measuring,  but  as  the 
order  was  called  out  the  old  woman  sent  two  hands 
full  of  frozen  dried  potatoes,  half  a  hand  full  of 
peppers,   a   quarter 'section   of   cabbage   and   three 


100    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

carrots.  The  market  woman  then  put  a  table 
spoon  full  of  lard  into  a  cabbage  leaf,  tossed  that 
in,  and  the  transaction  was  complete.  As  I  figured 
it  out,  all  the  lady  had  to  do  was  to  have  the  pot 
boiling,  dump  the  purchase  in  just  as  it  stood,  and 
produce  her  dinner.  Had  this  deal  been  put 
through  in  the  States,  there  would  have  been  four 
perfectly  good  paper  bags  and  a  wooden  saucer 
used,  but  down  here  nothing  is  wasted. 

Just  in  front  of  the  hotel  is  the  plaza  Murillo, 
and  in  the  center  of  it  a  monument  erected  to  the 
patriot  Murillo,  who  died  at  that  spot  in  1809. 
This  was  the  battle  of  Lexington  for  the  South 
Americans  resulting,  not  only  in  the  liberty  of 
Bolivia,  but  practically  all  of  South  America.  Op- 
posite the  hotel  is  the  shell  of  the  great  cathedral 
of  La  Paz.  If  they  ever  finish  it  they  will  have  per- 
haps the  largest  place  of  worship  in  South  Ameri- 
ca for  I  am  told  they  can  seat  12,000  people.  I 
may  not  be  able  to  judge  the  seating  capacity  of  a 
building,  but  if  they  put  12,000  people  in  that  build- 
ing they  will  break  all  Catholic  church  precedents 
and  put  in  a  few  galleries.  I  used  to  think  the 
church  of  St.  John  the  Divine  on  Morningside 
Heights  in  New  York  would  hold  the  record  for 
"deliberate  construction"  on  the  two  American 
continents,  but  I  did  not  know  about  La  Paz.  This 
building  has  been  under  way  for  fifty  years,  and 
the  builders  were  quite  active  the  first  few  years, 
but  at  the  rate  they  are  going  now,  it  will  not  be 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERIOjair 


'WJT^   A  ,SA,MWj]p   (^A&E    101 


finished  until  the  fall  of  5081.  It  is  a  pity  they  are 
fooling  so  much  time  away,  for  it  would  be  a  noble 
structure  and  should  be  completed. 

To  the  left,  facing  the  cathedral,  is  the  hall  of 
Congress,  and  it  is  a  beautiful  building.  The  presi- 
dent's house  alongside  the  cathedral  is  also  an  at- 
tractive building.  The  palace  of  justice  is  another 
imposing  building,  and  should  front  on  the  plaza, 
but  instead  it  is  stuck  off  on  a  side  street.  My 
friend  Byron  tells  an  amusing  story  illustrative  of 
the  administration  of  justice,  which  is  worth  re- 
peating. He  was  located  here  some  years  ago 
and  had  rented  a  house.  For  some  reason  it  did 
not  suit  his  purpose,  so  he  decided  to  move.  This 
he  proceeded  to  do,  without  the  30  days'  notice  to 
the  landlord,  which  resulted  in  him  being  summon- 
ed before  the  court.  Now,  it  seems  Byron's  friends 
had  nicknamed  him  "Bill  Byron,"  and  the  sum- 
mons called  for  "one  Bill  Byron"  to  appear.  In 
the  courtroom  he  was  asked  his  name  and  reli- 
gion, and  in  answer  to  the  former,  gave  the  name 
C.  R.  Byron,  and  announced  the  fact  he  was  short 
on  religion.  It  is  the  custom  here  for  the  judge  to 
hold  a  preliminary  trial  on  all  minor  cases  to  de- 
cide if  the  matter  shall  come  to  court,  and  later 
issue  another  summons.  So  two  weeks  later 
Byron  was  served  with  another  paper  calling  for 
one  "C.  R.  Bill  Byron"  a  "Dam  heretic"  to  ap- 
pear before  the  august  court  and  show  cause  why 
he   should  not  go  to  jail   for  the   rest  of  his  life. 


102^  Am)LI>\D    SOKTU    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

As  Bill  has  been  with  us  all  day,  the  sentence  was 
evidently  suspended. 

In  Mollendo  the  American  consul  made  the 
statement  that  millions  of  dollars,  worth  of  Ameri- 
can merchandise  consigned  to  Bolivia  was  on  the 
docks  at  that  town,  and  from  another  source  I 
learned  it  had  been  estimated  at  $30,000,000  gold. 
Well  I  classed  it  with  the  snake  stories  told  me  by 
Alfalfa  Bill,  but  decided  to  get  at  the  truth  if  possi- 
ble, so  called  at  the  consular  office  about  the  open- 
ing hour  and  was  most  courteously  received  by  Mr. 
Hazeltine.  He  was  good  enough  to  get  out  the  Con- 
sular report  and  announced  that  about  305,000  pack- 
ages of  merchandise  were  at  Mollendo  on  broken 
contracts,  being  the  backwash  of  the  armistice.  In 
this  lot  were  to  be  found  29,000  packages  of  cloth, 
drugs,  perfumery  and  general  merchandise ; 
17,000  bags  of  rice  (now  ruined,)  90,000  bags  of 
sugar,  9,000  cases  of  soap,  milk,  wine  and  lard ; 
8,000  cases  kerosene,  now  much  depreciated,  and 
2,000  cases  automobiles  and  machinery.  At  a  con- 
servative estimate  it  will  figure  close  to  $20,000,000 
in  gold.  It  would  take  Bolivia  at  least  five  years 
to  absorb  much  of  this  material,  even  if  trade  was 
booming  as  it  did  during  the  last  year  of  the  war. 
All  of  which  goes  to  show  a  reckless  orgy  of  buy- 
ing on  the  part  of  Bolivia,  and  lack  of  good  judg- 
ment on  the  part  of  American  manufacturers.  This 
can  result  in  but  one  thing,  and  that  disastrous  to 
our  interests,  unless  we  in  the  States  are  willing 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   103 

to  accept  and  adjust  the  loss,  and  exercise  proper 
caution  in  the -future.  Mr.  Hazeltine  has  set  him- 
selt  the  task  of  straightening  this  tangle,  and  it 
is  a  man's  job.  He  is  hopeful  of  doing  this  be- 
cause of  the  latent  possibilities  in  the  country,  and 
because  of  stable  government  and  their  friendly 
attitude  toward  foreign  capital,  and  the  people  of 
the  United  States. 

There  are  several  railroad  propositions  up  at  this 
time,  any  one  or  all  of  which  will  prove  beneficial 
to  the  country,  and  a  rich  investment,  for  they 
would  be  profitable  at  once.  American  capital 
could  find  no  richer  field  than  Bolivia. 

An  unexpected  courtesy  w^as  extended  me  by 
Mr,  Easley,  who  invited  me  to  visit  the  museum 
with  him.  Being  introduced  to  Professor  Arthur 
Posnansky,  we  were  shown  through  the  building. 
I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  to  get  the  informa- 
tion so  much  desired,  but  yesterday,  coming  up 
from  Mr.  Easley's  office,  I  met  the  professor  and 
asked  if  he  could  give  me  a  little  time.  He  said  he 
would  be  at  home  at  one  o'clock,  and  I  was  there 
promptly.  The  building  is  being  constructed  along 
lines  of  Tihuanaca  architecture,  with  many  original 
stones  and  replicas  used  for  ornamentation.  As 
shown  in  all  Inca  and  pre-Inca  structures  there  is 
a  total  absence  of  the  arch,  but  these  ancient  peo- 
ple, nevertheless,  had  great  architectural  skill,  with 
the  sun,  moon  and  stars  influencing  the  plans  of 
their  temples,  at  least.     The  professor  has   spent 


104   AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    AVITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ten  years  in  the  investigation  of  the  ruins  of  Tihu- 
anacua,  digging,  measuring  and  calculating,  until 
he  was  able  to,  figuratively  speaking,  take  me  by 
the  hand  and  walk  with  me  in  a  reconstructed  city, 
showing  me  the  great  panel  originally  above  the 
door  of  the  temple,  and  yet  almost  intact,  on  which 
is  carved,  in  no  rude  manner,  the  sun  and  the 
twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac.  In  his  carefully  writ- 
ten "Boletin  de  la  Sociedad  Geogrofica  de  la  Paz" 
the  professor  illustrates  measurements  taken  from 
the  unearthed  ruins  of  the  "temple  del  Sol," 
and  definitely  proves  the  building  to  have  been 
erected  so  the  sun's  rays  would  reach  the  central 
doorway  from  the  southeast  corner  on  the  twenty- 
second  of  December,  which  is  the  point  of  sum- 
mer, on  the  twenty-second  of  September  and  the 
twenty-first  of  March  the  rising  sun  would  line 
through  the  center  of  the  building,  and  the  point 
of  winter  solstice  would  reach  the  sacred  doorway 
from  the  northeast  corner.  In  the  meantime  the 
position  of  the  earth  has  changed  so  the  line  is 
shifted  eleven  minutes,  and  it  only  required  modest 
calculations  to  prove  the  temple  was  built  about 
15,000  years  ago. 

After  an  examination  of  this  interesting  data  we 
went  into  the  room  where  the  treasures  of  the  an- 
cients are  kept,  and  I  was  permitted  to  handle  the 
ceremonial  cups  from  which  the  priests  poured 
libations  to  .their  gods.  On  the  ones  used  in  the 
sun   worship,   figures   of  the   Macranchenis    (giant 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    105 

llatiia,  now  extinct,)  were  drawn*  On  cups  used 
for  the  wife  of  the  sun  (the  moon)  the  puma  is 
shown,  and  over  the  rude  figures  is  thrown  a  glaze 
that  has  resisted  the  action  of  time  and  contact 
with  earth  for  centuries.  One  of  them  is  parti- 
cularly well  preserved,  and  was  used  ior  some 
special  purpose  or  in  the  worship  of  some 
minor  god.  It  was  the  same  shape,  but  instead 
of  the  llama  or  puma,  it  had  coiled  about  the  stem, 
and  partly  up  the  bowl,  a  well-defined  rattlesnake 
and,  cunningly  concealed  in  the  stem  is  a  set  of 
rattles,  which  sing  as  clearly  as  they  did  when 
the  original  owner  sent  out  his  friendly  warning. 
I  was  then  shown  bands  of  gold,  silver  and  copper, 
with  which  the  heads  of  the  children  were  bound 
in  order  to  elongate  the  skull.  The  three  metals 
representing  the  classes  in  Tihuanacuan  society. 
Quaint  figures  of  beaten  gold  aiid  odd  bits  of  pot- 
tery were  there  for  my  inspection,  showing  the 
struggle  of  the  human  mind  to  reach  a  higher 
plane,  and,  handling  these  relics  of  the  past,  I 
found  myself  wondering  if  in  their  day  they  had  a 
museum  in  which  they  had  gathered  the  unearthed 
records  of  yet  another  ancient  people.  Who 
knows? 

The  professor  was  not  satisfied  with  taking  me 
back  15,000  years,  but  told  me  of  his  conviction 
that  a  great  continent,  such  as  Donnelly  has  so 
cleverly  described  in  "Atlantis,"  had  existed  in  the 
Pacific,  the  Polynesian  group  being  all  that  is  left 


106   AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

of  it,  and  that  a  .part  of  its  people,  or  what  was 
left  of  them,  when  the  catyclism  occurred,  left  their 
record  in  the  Tihuanacuan  ruins.  As  to  their  ori- 
gin, the  veil  will  never  be  lifted,  but  it  is  most 
fascinating  to  speculate  on  the  subject. 


Around  south  America  with  a  sample  case  107 

THE    BACKBONE    OF    THE    WORLD. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

We  left  the  station  at  3:30,  and  the  very  much 
overloaded  engine  began  to  toil  its  way  up  the 
side  of  the  canon  from  La  Paz.  We  did  not  make 
graceful  curves  this  time,  but  cut  straight  on  a 
grade  all  of  four  and  one-half  per  cent.  Shortly 
after  leaving  the  station  we  passed  a  brickyard 
in  operation,  but  it  was  no  Harbison- Walker  out- 
fit by  any  means,  but  rather  an  exact  duplicate  of 
the  brickyard  that  gave  old  Pharaoh  so  much  trou- 
ble, and  all  that  is  needed  to  start  a  riot  in  that 
plant  would  be  to  cut  off  the  supply  of  straw,  for 
without  it  brick-making  would  be  a  tough  prop- 
osition. As  we  neared  the  summit  we  looked 
down  on  the  quaint  city,  noting  the  tiny  patches 
of  leveled  and  cultivated  soil,  wondering  all  the 
time  how  it  could  have  been  planted  and  by  what 
means  it  would  be  harvested,  but  the  great  ques- 
tion was  how  the  farming  could  be  made  to  pay, 
for  th'e  growth  of  barley  was  scant,  and  the  corn 
stunted  almost  to  the  point  of  not  being  at  all. 
The  train  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  at  the  upper 
rim,  and  the  likeness  to  the  Grand  Canon  of  the 
Colorado  was  marked,  save  in  the  absence  of  in- 
tense color  here.     The  mountains  rising  from  the 


j68    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

valley  between  the  city  and  Illinanu  has  a  stain 
of  iron  striping  its  sides,  in  some  places  showing 
a  bright  red,  but  both  sides  of  the  immediate  canon 
are  grayish  yellow  rubble,  resembling  what  seems 
to  have  been  a  river  bed  deposit  of  clay  and  river 
bed  stones  to  the  depth  of  1,500  feet,  and  it  will 
doubtless  run  even  deeper  in  places,  for  I  noted 
the  river  running  through  La  Paz  was  still  cut- 
ting, and  had  not  reached  bed-rock.  If  the  Colo- 
rado ran  through  this  gorge,  instead  of  the  modest 
stream  which  comes  down  from  the  melting  snows, 
.it  would  not  be  long  before  the  Chinese  would 
have  water,  in  their  cellars,  for  it  would  go  on 
through.  Ten  minutes  after  we  left  the  station  all 
traces  of  the  canon  had  disappeared,  and,  looking 
back,  Illinanu  seemed  to  rise  directly  from  the 
level  pampa.  After  the  shadows  of  evening  had 
darkened  the  pampa  the  vast  snow-clad  peak 
caught  rays  from  the  setting  sun,  and  reflected  a 
rosy  glow.  A  few  minutes  later  the  color  faded, 
and  only  a  white  cloud-like  outline  was  visible  in 
the  moonlight. 

A  very  satisfactory  dinner  was  served  on  the 
fining  car,  but  by  9 :30  we  had  to  go  to  bed  to  keep 
from  freezing,  for  it  had  gotten  intensely  cold. 
The  sleeping  car  would  have  been  comfortable  had 
it  been  heated,  for  it  was  a  compartment  car,  and 
the  berth  was  satisfactory  in  every  way,  but  at 
Uyuni,  where  we  had  to  change  cars,  the  water 
tank  was  frozen  solid,  so  we  had  to  ring  for  water, 


\ 

\  AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    109 

but  my  teeth  were  rattling  by  the  time  my  collar 
was  buttoned.  This  place  shows  the  greatest 
change  in  temperature  on  the  continent ;  the  rec- 
ord showing  seventy-five  degrees  above  at  mid- 
day, and  thirty  degrees  below  in  less  than  twelve 
hours,  which,  to  my  mind,  puts  it  in  the  class  of 
undesirable  places  of  residence.  It  is  a  trading 
center  for  a  rather  rich  mining  district,  and,  as 
such  had  an  excuse  for  existing.  By  nine  o'clock 
the  temperature  had  risen  from  far  below  zero 
to  around  sixty  degrees  above,  and  it  was  pleasant 
to  get  oflf  at  various  stations,  so  long  as  we  re- 
mained in  the  sunshine.  We  soon  reached  the  be- 
ginning of  the  volcanic  district,  and  cones  of  vol- 
canic origin  were  about  us  in  hundreds.  In  fact  we 
ran  between  a  chain  of  them  on  either  side,  and  at 
one  time  we  counted  no  less  than  thirty-one  peaks 
ranging  from  1,000  to  4,000  feet  above  the  pampa 
floor.  These  had  built  up  the  general  level  from 
time  to  time  and  some  had  been  active  at  no  very 
remote  period. 

The  vast  pampa,  over  which  we  were  travelling, 
looked  like  a  field  of  snow,  as  there  is  a  heavy  de- 
posit of  borax  over  all  the  land.  This  snowy 
range,  with  its  border  of  purple  mountains,  pre- 
sented a  picture  most  pleasing  to  the  eye.  Later 
on  we  approached  the  great  borax  bed,  with  its 
deposit  from  three  to  ten  feet  in  depth,  and  at  that 
time  had  gotten  almost  within  the  shadow  of  "011a- 
que"    with    its    steaming   crater,    whilst    above    us 


110    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

everywhere  was  evidence  of  the  awful  forces  that 
had  been,  and  are  still,  at  work.  Just  south  of 
Ollaque  there  is  a  triple  cone  volcano,  now  inac- 
tive, but  their  sides  are  festooned  with  lava.  At 
one  place  the  flow  has  started  from  a  narrow  neck, 
but  found  some  obstruction,  forcing  a  flow  on 
either  side,  and,  in  cooling,  the  lava  has  formed  a 
perfect  inverted  V.  The  letter  showing  red  brown 
on  a  former  overflow  that  had  grown  black  with 
age.  On  the  side  of  another  of  this  group  was  a 
great  eye,  formed  by  an  ash  and  lava  flow  around 
a  monster  boulder.  The  black  boulder  made  the 
pupil  and  it  was  completely  surrounded  by  a  ring 
of  white  ash,  and  that  in  turn  by  darker  masses 
of  lava,  and  the  illusion  was  marked.  Just  south 
of  the  triple  cone  is  a  mountain  with  the  entire 
side  blown  out,  exposing  the  cup-like  wall  of  the 
crater.  The  wall  must  1)e  at  least  2,000  feet  high, 
and  the  exposed  face  is  rainbow  tinted,  showing 
the  action  of  the  fires  on  the  metal  content  of  the 
mountain.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
beauty  of  it,  or  convey  any  idea  of  its  awful  gran- 
deur. The  volcanos  just  mentioned  range  from 
17,000  to  20,000  feet,  but  dozens  of  lesser  cones 
cluster  all  about,  which,  if  seen  with  other  sur- 
roundings, would  be  awe-inspiring,  and  make  poor 
old  Vesuvius  look  like  an  ant  heap.  Several  of 
these  smaller  mountains  have  their  sides  blow^n 
out,  but  show  only  ugly  gashes  from  which  one 
turned  with  a  feeling  of  depression,  for  they  mark- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    111 

ed\the  agony  of  the  mountain  with  no  l)right  col- 
ors \  to  cover  the  wound.  Climbing  steadily  from 
the  borax  field  and  passing  between  low  foot-hills 
we  came  in  view  of  the  majestic  twins  "St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul."  St.  Paul  restful  and  serene,  as  be- 
fit^one  who  had  kept  the  faith,  whilst  old  Peter 
is  fussing  and  spouting  just  as  he  did  when  he 
denied  the  Master.  These  two  mountains  are  won- 
derfully impressive,  and,  seeing  them  once,  will 
fix  them  in  the  mind  of  the  observer.  Just  at 
the  base  of  these  great  mountains  is  a  small  and 
perfect  truncated  cone,  rising  perhaps  700  feet 
from  the  general  level,  and  whilst  the  symmetry 
of  this  cone  is  absolutely  unbroken,  it  evidently  at 
some  time  has  thrown  out  millions  of  tons  of 
lava ;  the  floor  being  at  least  half  a  mile  wide,  100 
feet  deep,  and  two  miles  long,  and  yet  the  mother 
of  this  one-time  fiery  serpent  looks  as  innocent  an«l 
quite  like  one  of  the  Jones  &  Laughlin  mounds  of 
iron  ore  at  Woodlawn.  Try  to  think  of  a  view 
made  up  of  the  features  outlined,  with  the  snow- 
white  crystals  carpeting  the  pampa,  the  low  hills 
adjoining  covered  with  a  moss  and  bunch  grass 
that  mantled  them  in  tourmaline,  and  a  general 
background  of  cloud-piercing  peaks,  some  inky 
black  in  the  shadows,  with  ribbons  of  snow  mark- 
ing the  crevasses ;  other  reflecting  the  sun  from 
a  riven  side,  and  you  have  a  vision  to  contemplate 
with  reverence.  The  slanting  rays  of  the  descend- 
ing sun  crept  up  from  the  valleys,  casting  a  halo 


112    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

of  glory  over  the  mountain  monarchs  crowning 
them  w^ith  golden  crow^ns,  wdiich  w^ere  the  last 
to  fade  as  darkness  gathered.;  and  w^e  breathe 
deeply  as  w^e  do  when  the  curtain  drops  at  the  end 
of  a  great  drama. 

The  sun  went  down  in  a  heavy  bank  of  cloud, 
and  the  sky  became  entirely  overcast  for  the  first 
time  in  weeks.  It  was  a  gloomy  outlook  from  the 
car  patform  when  darkness  came  on,  for  no  light 
flashed  to  give  us  a  sense  of  human  companion- 
ship until  w^e  came  in  sight  of  Chuquicamata.  The 
big  copper  property  of  the  Chili  Exploration  Com- 
pany is  located  here,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we 
pulled  in  at  Calama,  after  a  ride  of  thirty  hours 
along  the  very  back1)one  of  the  world.  An  auto- 
mobile from  Chuquicamata  was  waiting  at  the  sta- 
tion, and  wdiirled  me  over  the  ghostly  trail  to  the 
town,  where  a  hot  bath  and  warm  room  gave 
me  the  first  real  comfort  known  since 
leaving  "Quinta  Bates,"  and  the  break- 
fast call  came  all  too  soon.  From  my  window  in 
the  "Guest  House"  was  presented  a  view  almost 
as  brilliant  in  color  as  the  'Tainted  Desert"  seen 
from  Grand  View  at  the  Grand  Canon.  There 
was  the  same  iridescent  coloring  that  seemed  to 
gather  and  fade  so  that  one  looked  upon  something 
different  every  time  the  glance  was  shifted.  The 
camp  is  nearly  2,000  feet  above  Coloma,  and  about 
12  miles  distant,  but  at  best  it  does  not  seem  more 
than   three    or    four    miles.      The    same    deceptive 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    113 

atmosphere  is  here  that  we  find  in  Colorado,  and 
when  one  starts  out  on  what  appears  like  a  three- 
mile  \walk  to  some  given  object,  he  had  better  take 
a  carrtping-  outfit  and  three  days'  grub,  if  he  hopes 
to  reach  his  destination.  Justl  after  lunch  Mr. 
Middlemas,  the  general  superintendent,  of  the 
mines,  stopped  by  and  carried  me  up  to  the  work- 
ings. Here  he  presented  to  my  view  one  of  the 
most  stupendous  operations  to  be  found  on  the 
globe.  In  front  of  the  mine  office  is  a  mountain 
of  copper  ore,  one  and  one-eighth  of  a  mile 
long,  1,200  feet  wide,  and  tested  to  a  depth  of  1,685 
feet.  These  measurements  ''block  out"  seven  hun- 
dred million  tons  of  workable  ore,  and  is  a  fifty 
million  dollar  outfit,  as  it  stands.  Their  present 
plant  can  handle  14,000  tons  of  ore  daily,  but  plans 
have  been  completed  which  will  soon  more  than 
double  their  capacity.  At  the  rate  of  40,000  tons 
daily  they  have  material  enough  to  keep  them  go- 
ing for  »ixty  years.  In  this  time  they  will  take 
out  about  eleven  million  tons  of  copper,  ninety- 
nine  and  ninety-four  hundredths  per  cent  pure. 

It  was  a  breathless  climb  from  the  office  to  the 
upper  level  as  the  elevation  is  over  10,000  feet, 
but  they  had  touched  oflf  a  tunnel  mine  two  days 
before,  carrying  204  tons  of  powder,  and  this  blast 
had  torn  loose  six  hundred  thousand  tons  of  ore, 
almost  all  of  it  ready  for  the  steam  shovel  to  han- 
dle. The  shovels  were  already  at  work  on  their 
forty  day  job,  after  which  there  will  be  another 


114    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A   SAMPLE    CASE 

rending  of  the  mountain.  We  sto])i)ed  where  one 
of  these  giants  was  at  work.  It  is  a  Bucyrus  ma- 
chine equipped  with  Westinghouse  motor,  and  is 
in  charge  of  Mr.  Stevens  of  the  Westinghouse 
plant,  who  is  here  to  get  them  going  properly.  The 
working  weight  of  the  machine  is  v325  tons,  with 
an  80  foot  yard  boom,  58  foot  dipper  step,  and  a 
scoop  that  handles  12  tons  each  dip.  I  stood  al)ove 
where  the  tunnel  had  been  run,  and  it  was  a  won- 
derful sight.  The  wall  was  about  100  foot  face, 
and  showed  all  the  rainbow  colors  of  chalconite, 
covelite,  brochantite,  altacanite  and  the  golden 
glow  of  iron  pyrites  mixed  with  the  basic  granite. 
The  original  floor  of  the  tunnel  was  ])ractically 
clean,  the  action  of  the  blast  being  an  exaggerated 
dump  cart  proposition.  The  track  had  been  remov- 
ed from  where  the  ore  fell,  and  the  engineers  were 
able  to  calculate  the  overflow  so  accurately  that  it 
came  within  ten  feet  of  the  railroad  ends,  without 
covering  them  at  any  point.  The  next  day  after 
my  visit  to  the  mines  I  was  placed  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Lambert,  and  permitted  to  follow  the  process 
of  copper  making  from  the  carload  of  ore  to  the 
cold  finished  ingot.  Gondolas  carrying  seventy 
tons  are  let  down  the  track  to  primary  crushers 
by  gravity.  There  they  are  caught  by  a  clever  de- 
vice called  a  "burro,"  which  carries  the  car  into  a 
Wellman-Seaver  car  dumping  machine,  which  pre- 
ceeds  to  nip,  lift  and  dump  contents  of  same  into 
bins  above  the  crusher.     The  car  is  as  quickly  let 


AKOUND    SOITH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    115 

down  on  the  track  and  unnipped  and  shot  ahead 
to  make  room  for  the  next  car.  Fourteen  thous- 
and tons  daily  pass  through  the  jaws  of  the  two 
mighty  crushers,  dropping  the  broken  ore  upon  a 
thirty-six  inch  conveyor  belt  2,220  feet  long.  This 
carries  it  to  three  gyratory  machines,  and  it  is 
then  conveyed  to  a  battery  of  thirty-two  crushers, 
which  prepare  it  for  the  "leaching  tanks."  These 
tanks  are  filled  with  10,000  tons  of  powdered  ore 
and  a  solution  containing  five  per  cent  sulphuric 
acid  and  one  and  one-half  per  cent  copper  is  pour- 
ed over  it  until  submerged.  It  is  kept  in  this  con- 
dition for  ten  hours.  This  solution,  now  heavily 
charged  w^ith  copper,  is  drawn  off  and  piped  to  the 
tank  house.  The  ore  is  again  covered  with  a 
stronger  solution  and  let  stand  fifteen  hours,  af- 
ter which  time  it  is  drained  and  washed.  Steam 
shovels  then  empty  the  tank  ready  for  another 
charge.  The  solution  from  the  lee'^hing  tanks 
undergoes  a  denaturing  process  in  order  to  re- 
move the  chlorine  and  other  oxides,  and  is  then 
pumped  through  to  the  reclamation  tanks.  One 
set  of  these  tanks  holds  sheet  lead  cathodes  that 
pick  up  a  thin  layer  of  copper  on  both  sides.  These 
in  turn  are  stripped,  trimmed  and  lugged  ready  to 
be  suspended  in  the  tanks  for  final  harvest. 

There  is  a  vast  field  of  the  tanks  and  a1:)out  35,000 
kilowats  per  hour  is  forced  through  them,  causing 
the  copper  to  adhere  to  the  suspended  sheets.  The 
tanks  are  "poled"  that  is,  emptied,  every  fourteen 


116   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

days,  and  slabs  of  nearly  pure  copper  ranging 
around  half-inch  in  thickness  are  removed.  These 
slabs  are  loaded  on  dinky  trucks  and  sent  down 
the  line  to  the  melting  house,  where  200  tons  are 
placed  in  an  oil  heated  furnace  for  thirty-six  hours. 
In  this  time  all  impurities  are  released  and  sent 
to  the  top  of  the  molten  mass.  A  clever  set  of  re- 
volving molds  containing  four  pockets  pass  un- 
der the  outlet  of  the  furnace,  and  each  mold  takes 
on  four  200  pound  ingots,  pass  over  a  heavy  spray 
of  water  and  are  automatically  dumped  into  a  wa- 
ter tank  that  is  constantly  being  renewed  to  keep 
cool.  A  lifting  table  brings  the  ingots  up  after  a. 
few  minutes  submergence,  and  men  load  them  on 
waiting  tram  trucks.  After  dumping,  the  molds 
right  themselves  and  men  stand  by  with  bone  ash 
in  solution  to  paint  their  sides  and  bottoms  as 
they  pass.  This  insures  smooth,  clean  ingots. 
Running  at  full  capacity,  using  14,000  tons  of  ore 
will  produce  180  tons  of  ninety-nine  and  six-tenths 
per  cent  pure  copper  daily.  Figuring  the  product 
at  war-time  prices  would  make  one  long  for  a 
block  of  stock.  The  past  two  days  spent  at 
the  mine,  and  going  through  the  various  plants 
brought  me  in  contract  with  nearly  all  the  officials, 
and  I  want  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  great 
courtesy  extended  me  every  minute  of  the  time. 
Yesterday  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  the  general 
manager,  Mr.  Ballinger,  and  found  all  the  kindly 
things  said  of  him  fully  justified. 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    ll7 

A  gale  has  swept  down  from  the  hills  all  day, 
sending  dust  and  gravel  in  blinding  clouds  over 
the  camp,  blotting  out  the  painted  desert  and  mak- 
ing life  miserable  for  any  one  exposed  to  it.  The 
past  three  days  have  been  enjoyable,  first  because 
of  the  courtesy  extended  me  by  the  officials  of 
the  Copper  Company,  and,  until,  today,  the  place 
has  fascinated  me  by  its  peculiar  charm.  Had  we 
been  able  to  find  a  couple  of  camels  we  could  have 
staged  the  opening  scene  of  the  Garden  of  Allah 
any  evening,  as  the  sun  went  down,  for  we  had 
the  sand  dunes,  and  over  all  a  soft  radiance  only 
seen  in  desert  lands.  Mr.  Savage  was  good  enough 
to  have  me  sent  over  to  Calama  by  auto,  and,  as 
the  gale  had  subsided,  the  ride  was  delightful.  A 
glorious  moon  lit  up  the  scene,  and  passing  clouds 
sent  black  shadows  over  the  sands,  intensifying  the 
whiteness  where  the  moonlight  shone.  Arriving 
at  Calama  I  found  no  berth  to  be  had  in  the  sleep- 
ing car,  and  was  prepared  to  face  a  cold  night's 
ride,  but  a  good  Samaritan  happened  along  in  the 
person  of  Mr.  Walter  Hughes,  a  broker  from  Anto- 
fogasta,  and  he  said  "come  into  the  dining  car 
with  me  ;  I  know  the  conductor,  and  we  will  get 
things  fixed  up."  When  the  train  left  the  station 
the  conductor  came  in  and  Mr.  Hughes  asked  him 
to  have  a  bed  made  up  on  the  floor  of  his  com- 
partment, which,  after  a  protest,  he  agreed  to  do. 
We  then  sat  down  to  an  agreeable  visit  until  time 
to  retire.     About  11  o'clock  Mr,  Hughes  announc- 


118    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ed  it  was  time  to  turn  in,  and  bade  me  good-night, 
saying  he  would  be  out  of  the  way  in  about  ten 
minutes,  and  for  me  to  then  come  to  bed.  Perhaps 
you  can  imagine  my  surprise  when  I  opened  the 
door  to  find  him  rolled  up  in  a  blanket  on  the 
floor.  I  protested  most  vigorously,  but  was  told 
to  keep  quiet  and  not  disturb  him  and  the  other 
passengers  in  compartment,  as  they  were  both 
tired  and  sleepy.  A  further  protest  from  me 
brought  forth  a  "simulated  snore"  and  I  finally  tum- 
bled into  a  comfortable  bed,  and  was  soon  asleep. 
I  was  awakened  by  a  lilting  Scotch  song  to  find 
Hughes  up  and  dressed,  and  the  train  almost  at 
Antofogasta.  There  are  times  when  we  think  this 
old  world  a  selfish  proposition,  but  such  incidents 
as  this  renews  our  faith  and  establishes  the  fact  that 
"good  Indians"  are  not  all  dead. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   119 

PIRATES,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

It  was  pleasing-  to  see  paved  streets  and  a  bit 
of  spontaneous  green  once  more  after  weeks  spent 
in  a  treeless,  grassless,  and  waterless  country.  The 
hills  surrounding  Antofogasta  are  brown  and 
bare,  but  it  rains  'here  once  in  a  while,  and,  Na- 
ture being  quick  to  respond,  there  may  be  such  a 
thing  as  a  green  hill  at  times.  There  is  a  good 
roadway,  partly  landlocked,  and  a  number  of  ships 
are  riding  at  comparatively  safe  anchorage.  Car- 
goes are  scarce  just  now,  for  the  nitrate  fields  are 
shut  down.  Unfortunately  this  is  the  only  source 
of  business  life  in  the  town,  and  the  trade  is  mourn- 
ful. When  I  tried  to  sell  the  International  Ma- 
chinery Company  a  couple  of  tons  of  babbitt  metal 
and  a  carload  of  belting  the  manager  looked  at  me 
pityingly  as  if  he  thought  my  stay  in  high  altitudes 
had  seriously  affected  my  brain.  There  is  much 
United  States  merchandise  here  that  has  been  re- 
fused by  the  trade,  but  the  situation  is  not  as  seri- 
ous as  it  is  at  Mollendo,  nor  will  the  ultimate  loss 
be  as  great  in  proportion,  for  all  this  will  be  taken 
out  w^hen  the  exchange  is  favorable  and  trade  im- 
proves with  the  opening  of  the  nitrate  fields.  This 
is  sure  to  come  soon,  for  the  world  needs  this  pro- 


120   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

duct,  and  this  is  the  world's  supply  house.  The 
usual  courtesy  was  extended  by  the  Grace  people, 
and  Mr.  Jonas  placed  their  launch  at  my  disposal. 
He,  and  my  good  friend  Hughes,  came  off  to  the 
ship,  bidding  me  *'God-speed"  for  Valparaiso.  The 
cruise  down  the  coast  was  uneventful,  although  we 
made  brief  stops  at  Taltal,  Chanaral,  Caldera, 
Huasco  and  Coquimbo.  The  abrupt  headlands  of 
the  upper  coast  have  given  place  to  receding 
mountains,  with  a  stretch  of  rolling  country  be- 
tween them  and  the  sea.  The  American  Smelting 
&  Refining  Company,  have  a  plant  at  Caldera,  and 
i^  seemed  to  be  in  operation,  but  the  shore  looked 
unalluring. 

The  ship  made  her  way  slowly  through  a  dense 
fog  to  our  anchorage  at  Coquimbo,  and  eveiwone 
decided  on  a  shore  visit.  In  the  town  the  view  was 
limited  to  half  a  city  block,  but  the  muddy  streets 
were  plain  enough.  We  plowed  through  them 
from  end  to  end  of  town,  seeing  some  modest 
stores  by  getting  close  to  them,  but  nothing  call- 
ing for  the  second  glance.  By  the  time  we  got 
back  to  the  ship  the  fog  had  lifted  so  we  were 
able  to  discover  some  attractive  features  in  the 
town,  but  doubtless  it  was  a  case  of  distance  lend- 
ing enchantment.  This  is  perhaps  the  best  harbor 
on  the  entire  west  coast,  and  is  therefore  winter 
quarters  for '  the  Chilian  navy.  The}^  must  wish 
themselves  at  Guantanamo,  for  the  fog  blanket 
hangs  sodden  over  this  place  throughout  the  win- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    121 

ter,  and  under  such  conditions  a  warship  is  the 
most  dismal  place  to  be  found,  either  afloat  or 
ashore. 

Before  sailing  time  the  fog  had  entirely  lifted, 
permitting  us  to  look  out  over  the  first  green  fields 
that  had  blessed  our  eyes  since  leaving  Panama, 
for  whilst  there  were  fields  a  plenty  around  Lima, 
the  grass  and  plants  were  dust  dimmed.  There 
were  trees  to  be  seen,  also,  promiscuous  like,  so 
one  felt  they  could  get  on  friendly  terms  with  them. 
A  sight  of  green  things  during  the  past  ten  weeks 
has  recalled  the  moon  flower  vine  and  nine  blades 
of  grass  I  found  the  negro  soldiers  standing  guard 
over  at  de  Arr  in  South  Africa.  They  were  the 
town's  most  precious  possessions,  and  there  are 
places  in  Peru  and  Bolivia,  where  if  they  could 
grow  a  moon  vine  and  as  many  as  three  blades  of 
grass,  they  would  put  the  entire  standing  army  on 
guard.  Rain  falls  regularly  in  this  section,  and 
we  no  longer  get  our  binoculars  out  when  a  dark 
spot  appears  on  the  hillside  near  the  water,  in 
order  to  see  if  it  is  really  a  clump  of  trees. 

The  Corderillos  have  been  kept  in  sight,  but  they 
are  far  inland  now,  and  their  snow-clad  peaks  fre- 
quently mingle  with  the  clouds  and  are  lost  to 
view.  The  first  sight  of  Valparaiso  is  quite  irn"- 
pressive,  but  is  greatly  overdrawn  in  various  de- 
scriptions I  have  read.  To  liken  it  to  Naples  is  to 
compare  "Little  Jim"  park  w^ith  the  Schenley.  Of 
course  these  highly  colored  pen  pictures  make  good 


122   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

reading,  and  few  people  can  hope  to  "check  up." 
True,  there  is  the  wide  sweep  of  the  bay,  but  the 
shore  line  is  broken  and  irregular,  and  there  is  no 
white  sand  beach  with  blue  water  in  artistic  con- 
trast. The  several  blufifs  over  which  the  city  is 
scattered  present  a  rugged  appearance.  The  one 
really  beautiful  feature  is  to  take  the  trip  on  one 
of  the  many  "Ascensors"  after  nightfall.  J^Vom  the 
top  of  any  one  of  the  bluffs  there  is  an  unbroken 
view  of  the  town  below,  with  Vina  del  Mar  in  the 
distance.  Lights  on  vessels  in  the  harbor  and  the 
city  streets  are  all  a,glow ;  it  can  then  be  compared 
with  Naples  as  seen  from  St.  Elmo  at  the  same 
hour,  but  daylight  quickly  dispels  the  illusion. 
Here  mighty  Aconcaqua  lifts  his  eternal  snows 
24,000  feet,  but  it  is  200  miles  to  the  north,  and 
cloiid-capped  three-fourths  of  the  time,  whilst 
Vesuvius  is  seldom  lost  to  view.  And  although 
Aconcagua  has  been  a  tremendous  volcano,  it  has 
no  Pompeii  or  Herculaneum  lying  buried  at  its  feet 
to  wrap  it  al)out  with  a  halo  of  romance. 

Perhaps  I  should  have  written  my  impressions 
of  the  town  before  making  the  trip  to  Vina  del 
Mar.  If  such  a  road  led  to  paradise  no  one  would 
get  there  unless  they  owned  a  Ford  car.  It  can 
only  be  spoken  of  as  a  bottomless  pit  of  soft  mud. 
filled  in  at  places  with  the  carcass  of  some  poor 
horse  w-ho  has  given  up  the  struggle,  and  it  is  a  pity 
the  driver  did  not  lie  down  quietly  along  with  his 
horse,  thereby  getting  out  of  a  bad  job  and  saving 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    123 

funeral  expenses,  for  the  body  would  never  be  dis- 
covered. Several  things  have  happened  which 
leave  a  bad  impression,  and  are  worth  noting.  A 
telegram  from  Santiago  to  a  shipping  agency 
brought  a  reply  saying  the  fare  to  Punta  Arenas 
was  $250.00  gold.  Arriving  at  Valparaiso  I  called 
at  the  office  for  my  ticket,  and,  asking  for  the  bill, 
was  told  it  w^as  500  pesos,  which  I  paid.  Leaving 
the  office  I  began  to  do  a  little  mental  arithmetic, 
but  could  not  figure  out  how^  $200.00  in  gold  made 
500  pesos.  Returning  to  the  Grace  Company's 
office  the.  proposition  was  put  up  to  the  cashier, 
and  I  w^as  told  it  was  equivalent  to  $437.50  at  the 
day's  exchange.  I  hustled  back  to  the  steamship 
office  and  put  in  my  claim  for  $62.50,  but  was  told 
the  original  quotation  was  only  a  figure  of  speech, 
and  used  in  quoting  only,  but  in  buying,  500  pesos 
was  the  price,  and  I  was  given  to  understand  this 
w^as  final.  I  demanded  to  see  the  general  manager, 
and  was  told  he  would  not  be  in  until  10  :?)0.  When 
he  arrived  he  pompously  informed  me  the  price 
paid  was  correct.  The  argument  for  the  next  few 
minutes  will  not  pass  the  censor,  but  it  w^ound  up 
by  me  saying,  "All  right,  we  will  let  it  go  at  that 
but  the  chapter  in  my  book,  dealing  with  the  pur- 
chase of  a  ticket  to  Punta  Arenas  will  not  make 
very  cheerful  reading  for  your  friends."  Ten  min- 
utes later  $62.50  was  handed  over  with  an  expres- 
sion of  regret  because  of  the  error  that  had  been 
made.  This  is  another  evidence  of  the  power  of 
the  press. 


124   AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

The  first  night  here  I  had  dinner  at  the  Troca- 
dero.  I  was  hungry  and  ordered  a  real  dinner, 
without  looking  at  the  prices  of  each  item.  It 
took  me  ten  days  to  recover  from  the  shock  when 
the  bill  was  handed  me.  It  would  not  do  to  show 
the  price  of  that  dinner  on  my  expense  account, 
for  the  office  would  want  to  know  what  show 
was  in  town ;  how  many  chorus  girls  they  carried, 
and  if  the  wine  was  not  rather  expensive  in  Val- 
paraiso. In  fact  everything  one  is  called  upon  to 
buy  causes  a  mild  attack  of  heart  failure  when 
prices  are  quoted.  It  is  strange  that  a  community 
will  systematically  set  out  to  leave  a  bad  taste  in 
the  mouths  of  their  visitors.  It  would  be  more 
profitable  to  tote  fair,  for  I  would  go  around  look- 
ing like  Hank  Dewberry  before  having  any  clothes 
pressed  here  at  the  prices  they  charge,  and  a  less 
expensive  place  has  been  found  to  eat.  Neverthe- 
less it  is  not  all  to  the  bad.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  fine  people  here,  and  they  helped  make  my 
stay  pleasant.  The  courtesy  of  the  Union  Club 
was  extended  by  Mr.  Baird  of  the  Du  Pont  Nitrate 
Company,  and  many  delightful  lunches  were  en- 
joyed with  him.  July  Fourth  gave  us  the  first 
clear  day  in  three  weeks,  and  it  was  celebrated  by 
a  tour  of  the  town.  We  started  early  and  visited 
the  several  public  buildings  of  note.  Many  of 
these  are  of  recent  date,  for  the  earthquake  of 
1906  shook  the  eternal  daylight  out  of  things.  It 
is  surprising  that  any  of  the  city  was  left  standing, 


AliOUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    125 

for  the  conformation  of  the  land  lends  itself  to  aid 
the  destructive  elements  of  an  earthquake.  Many 
of  the  buildings  are  tacked  on  the  hillside,  and  the 
bay  would  concentrate  a  tidal  wave,  beautifully 
sending  the  flood  where  it  would  do  the  most  good 
along  the  line  of  least  resistance.  Both  nature 
and  men  have  raided  the  place  repeatedly,  for  it 
has  been  under  the  guns  of  Drake,  Hawkins,  and 
the  Dutch  Admiral  Van  Noort  at  different  times, 
all  of  whom  were  more  or  less  piratical,  and  this 
may,  in  a  measure,  account  for  the  "hold-up"  being 
practiced  in  the  town  at  this  late  day. 

I  was  shown  the  blue-prints,  and  later  looked 
over  the  work  being  done  to  improve  the  harbor, 
but  they  will  never  carry  it  through  sufficiently  to 
make  the  anchorage  safe.  If  they  will  construct 
docks  along  the  water-front,  with  a  breakwater 
massive  enough  to  take  the  shock  of  a  norwcster 
they  will  be  successful ;  otherwise  there  should  be 
extra  insurance  on  ships  trading  at  that  port.  The 
Naval  Academy  dominates  the  city  from  its  point 
of  vantage  atop  one  of  the  highest  hills.  It  is 
spoken  of  as  being  imposing,  and  if  it  was  the 
private  house  of  a  successful  brewer  it  could  be 
classed  as  such,  but  it  does  not  look  in  the  least 
like  a  school  or  academy.  Benches  are  arranged  . 
around  the  grounds,  and  one  can  rest  and  enjoy  a 
pleasing  view  out  over  the  waters  of  the  bay 
and  ocean.  Returning  to  the  city  on  a  tram  car 
in    charge    of   a    "conductorette"    I    witnessed     an 


126    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

amusing"  incident.  The  street  car  capacity  is 
limited,  and  if  it  is  loaded  no  more  passengers  are 
allowed  on  board.  The  lady  captain  stepped  in- 
side for  a  moment  and  three  men  boarded  the  car. 
When  she  came  back  to  the  platform  and  counted 
noses  she  discovered  one  too  many,  and  prompt- 
ly stopped  the  car,  politely  requesting  the  offender 
to  discontinue  his  ride.  An  animated  argument 
followed,  which  finally  brought  a  policeman  on  the 
scene.  Then  the  fun  began.  Three  men  had  board- 
ed the  car  during  her  absence,  and  there  was  no 
way  for  her  to  decide  which  was  the  last  to  step 
up.  In  the  meantime  a  string  of  cars  and  auto- 
mobiles a  mile  long  had  jammed  behind,  and  start- 
ed their  infernal  klaxons  going,  and  pandemonium 
was  loose.  The  arguments  were  interesting  but 
the  horns  were  too  much  for  me,  so  I  left  the  car, 
thereby  establishing  harmonious  relations  between 
the  public  and  the  corporation.  People  cheered 
vociferously,  but  they  were  not  the  cheers  that 
greet  a  conqueror.  There  is  no  telling  what  a 
klaxon  horn  will  make  me  do. 

A  reception  was  held  at  the  American  consulate 
this  afternoon,  where  all  the  American  colony  and 
passing  strangers  from  home  foregathered  to  drink 
a  toast  to  the  Flag,  the  ladies,  and  the  signing  of 
the  peace  treaty,  and  to  the  utter  confusion  of  any 
and  all  Avho  would  dare  to  pull  the  tail  feathers  of 
the  Eagle.  Admiral  Nicholson  and  his  charming 
wife   were  present,  and  we   were   soon  discussing 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE   127 

the  winter  of  76,  for  I  happened  to  recall  that  we 
had  been  shipmates  on  the  "Hartford"  at  that 
time.  The  broad  stripes  on  his  sleeve  has  not  al- 
tered the  genial  nature  so  well  remembered.  He 
has  been  on  duty  here  for  eighteen  months  and  is 
a  great  favorite  in  both  official  and  social  circles. 
For  the  time  being  both  of  us  forgot  our  gray  hairs 
and  wrinkles  and  were  boys  again  on  the  old  Hart- 
ford battling  with  Boreas.  They  speak  of  that 
winter  in  Norfolk  to  this  day  and  everyone  on  the 
Hartford  remembers  the  near-tragedy  when  one  of 
our  steam  launches  got  adrift  in  the  wildest  of  our 
winter  storms.  The  two  men  in  her  faced  death 
for  three  days,  but  were  finally  saved  by  heroic 
effort  of  the  corvette  Swatara.  Our  meeting  open- 
ed a  flood-gate  of  memory,  and  we  could  have  talk- 
ed for  a  week. 

Our  ship  was  supposed  to  sail  today,  but  a  heavy 
sea  has  been  coming  in  for  three  days,  making  it 
impossible  to  handle  cargo,  so  w^e  are  now  booked 
for  the   ninth. 


128    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

SANTIAGO   AND   THE    PINK   MOUNTAINS. 

CHAPTER  X.  ^ 

We  were  up  early  for  the  morning  train  to  San- 
tiago, and  it  was  a  wretched  experience,  for  no  cab 
or  taxi  was  available  to  take  us  to  the  station,  thus 
giving  a  long  walk  with  heavy  grips  to  carry,  and 
not  a  restaurant  open,  where  we  could  get  a  cup 
of  cofifee.  We  were  well  on  our  way  before  the 
sun  came  up,  but  it  did  not  cheer  us  much,  for  we 
were  cold  and  hungry.  But  "Santiago  the  Beauti- 
ful!" was  our  promised  reward,  so  hunger  and  cold 
were  forgotten  when  we  reached  the  city.  It 
was  a  general  holiday,  and  all  business  houses 
were  closed.  The  city  is  beautiful  under  leaden 
skies  and  almost  continual  downpour  of  rain,  for 
the  streets  are  well  paved  and  clean.  Tropic  and 
semi-tropic  trees  and  flowers  adorn  the  many  pub- 
lic plazas  and  surround  the  public  buildings.  It 
is  a  ''real  city"  with  public  buildings  of  the  finest 
type,  up-to-date  stores,  attractive  homes,  some  of 
them  palaces,  first-class  street  car  service,  and  fair- 
ly good  hotels.  The  Alameda  is  the  show  place 
It  is  called  an  avenue,  but  is  in  fact  a  park  three 
miles  long  and  325  feet  wide.  Four  rows  of  Lom- 
bardy  poplars  line  the  driveway  and  walks.  Flow- 
ers, no  doubt,  add  further  beauty  in  their  season. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE    129 

Between  each  cross  street  is  found  from  one  to 
three  statues  or  monuments  erected  in  honor  of 
some  Chilian  patriot,  with  an  Irish  name,  or  to 
commemorate  some  decisive  battle  for  Chilian 
freedom.  The  most  important  of  these  statues 
shows  General  "Barney"  O'Higgins  astride  his 
war  horse  riding-  over  the  body  of  a  prostrate  foe. 
It  is  artistic,  but  rather  over-heroic.  Another 
splendid  "man  on  horseback"  is  the  statue  of 
General  de  San  Martin.  No  doubt  he  was  plain 
Joe  Martin  when  he  left  Ireland,  but  he  carved  out 
the  title  of  the  "Hannibal  of  the  Andes"  with  his 
good  sword.  He  ranki^  with  Bolivar  in  South 
America's  struggle  for  freedom,  being  the  libera- 
tor of  his  native  Argentine,  and  the  Lafayette  of 
Chili.  And  his  was  a  most  heroic  task,  for  he 
marched  his  troops  over  snow-clad  mountains, 
successfully  joined  forces  with  his  compatriot, 
O'Higgins,  and  made  a  Yorktown  for  Chili.  These 
people  can  never  pay  their  debt  to  these  two  sons 
of  the  "Green  Isle."  Another  Irishman  whose 
name  is  reverenced  is  Don  Benjamin  Mackenna. 
He  conceived  the  idea  and  carried  out  the  plan 
of  walling  in  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Mapocho,  and 
parking  the  banks  for  more  than  a  mile.  This  al- 
so is  a  thing  of  beauty,  and  must  be  a  joy  forever 
to  the  kiddies.  The  art  gallery  is  located  mid- 
way of  this  park  or  avenida,  and  is  a  beautiful 
building.  It  houses  a  few  of  the  Old  Masters  and 
many  excellent  works  of  local  artists.     The  build- 


130   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ing  also  contains  an  extensive  museum,  showing- 
arms  and  uniforms  of  Chilian  warriors,  with  tro- 
phies and  battle  flags  taken  from  Peru  and  Bolivia 
in  some  of  their  scraps.  There  is  a  vast  amount 
of  this  material,  for  these  people  are  a  warlike 
race,  maintaining  the  traditions  of  Valdivia,  who 
successfully  fought  for  and  founded  this  city,  near- 
ly four  hundred  years  ago.  His  initial  success  was 
largely  due  to  a  freak  of  nature,  for,  rising  from 
the  level  plain,  now  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  is  a 
rugged  rock  pile  four  hundred  feet  high.  This 
was  a  natural  fort,  which  was  easily  made  im- 
pregnable against  the  assault  of  the  Indians,  but 
only  by  hardy  endurance  was  it  saved  from  be- 
coming a  graveyard  for  the  Spanish  invaders. 
Mackenna  made  of  this  place  a  perfect  paradise, 
and  presented  it  to  the  city.  Winding  walks  and 
rustic  stairways,  1)ordered  with  rich  foliage,  lead 
to  the  summit,  and  at  the  very  top  stands  a  statue 
of  Valdivia,  with  tablet  reading:  ''On  this  spot, 
the  first  Governor  of  Chili  encamped  v/ith  one 
hundred  and  fifty  conquerors  on  the  l.^th  of  De- 
cember, 1540,  giving  to  these  rocks  the  name  of 
Santa  Lucia,  and  forming  of  them  a  bulwark." 
This  same  bulwark  was  all  that  saved  them  six 
months  later,  for  the  Indians  made  original  ma- 
terial out  of  the  mud  huts  they  had  built  at  the 
foot  of  the  rock.  Nearly  all  the  people  escaped 
death  by  getting  into  the  fort  on  the  hill.  At  this 
time,  according:  to  tradition,  was  created  another 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    131 

**Joan  de  Arc"  in  the  person  of  Dona  Inez  Snarcz, 
who  bestrode  a  war  horse  and  led  the  handful  of 
soldiers  against  the  Indians  and  broke  the  block- 
ade. 

Shortly  afterwards  Pizarro  sent  relief  and  the 
town  was  once  more  rebuilt ;  this  time  to  stay, 
with  more  or  less  vicissitudes.  A  drill  ground  was 
laid  out  in  the  center  of  the  town,  which  is  now 
the  beauty  spot  known  as  the  'TIaza  da  Armas." 
At  one  corner  of  this  square  a  primitive  church 
was  erected,  and  on  the  original  site  now  stands 
one  of  the  finest  cathedrals  in  Sou^h  America.  On 
a  jutting  rock  point  just  below  the  statue  of  Val- 
divia  is  a  beautiful  bronze  of  the  famous  Indian 
chief  Caupolican,  who  was  in  command  of  the 
Araucanian  when  Valdivia  was  killed.  Evidently 
he  was  another  Osceola  and  a  gallant  warrior,  to 
be  so  honored.  It  is  pleasing  to  note  the  tribute 
to  a  dead  race,  and,  in  a  measure,  it  is  an  offset 
to  the  gruesome  picture  of  the  manacled  Inca 
Athahuall]:)a  measuring  the  wall  to  indicate  the 
amount  of  gold  he  would  give  for  his  freedom, 
and  Pizarro's  broken  promise.  Fortunately  for  us 
we  had  Cooper  to  write  us  up,  and  we  have  the 
''Leather  Stocking  Tales."  Had  someone  with 
Prescott's  pitiless,  but  facile  pen,  written  up  the 
Rouge  River  episode  in  our  Indian  annals,  it  would 
require  more  than  a  statue  to  Logan  to  take  the 
bad  taste  out  of  our  mouths. 

I  attended  service  at  the  cathedral  this  morning 


132    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

and  seldom  have  listened  to  a  more  impressive  ser- 
vice. In  the  first  place  the  interior  of  the  church 
is  superb  in  its  appointments.  It  is  absolutely  free 
from  blood-stained  horrors  that  shock  us  so  pain- 
fully in  Peru  and  Bolivia.  Here  the  shrines  are 
pure  and  artistic.  Some  of  the  large  draperies  are 
rather  colorful,  but  they  blend  happily  with  the 
immensity  of  the  structure.  The  altar  ornaments 
in  the  Chapel  of  the"  Holy  Sacrament  are  made  of 
solid  silver,  massive  in  proportion  and  wonderfully 
carved.  The  sacristan  tells  me  they  were  placed 
here  over  two  hundred  years  ago.  An  intensely 
interesting  story  is  told  of  the  organ  also.  It  was 
being  sent  to  Australia  many  years  ago  for  the 
English  church  at  Melbourne,  but  the  ship  carry- 
ing it  was  wrecked  in  the  Straits.  The  organ  was 
saved  intact,  and  later  erected  here.  It  is  a  won- 
derful instrument,  and  the  operator  touches  the 
keys  with  the  same  tender  caress  noted  in  the 
work  of  Professor  Bell  on  the  organ  in  Dr.  Alex- 
ander's church  in  Pittsburgh.  A  highly  trained 
choir  of  two  hundred  male  voices  rendered  the 
responses  and  then  gave  a  song  service.  It  is  even 
finer  than  the  service  in  St.  Paul's  at  London,  and 
I  did  not  think  that  could  be  excelled.  It  is  no 
wonder  a  great  congregation  of  over  2,000  were 
there  to  worship,  for  it  was  worthy  throughout. 
Doubtless  many  of  these  devout*  worshippers,  my- 
self included,  were  out  at  the  race  track  this  after- 
noon, betting  their  fool  heads  off  on  their  favorite 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    133 

horse,  all  of  which  is  hard  for  a  Gringo  to  reconcile 
with  our  feeling  relative  to  Sunday  sports.  But 
of  course  it  all  depends  on  the  point  of  view. 

Last  Thursday  was  Corpus  Christi,  and  the  ser- 
vices were  specially  elaborate.  Of  course  every- 
body went  to  the  races  that  afternoon.  I  never 
watched  better  racing,  nor  did  I  ever  see  such  a 
beautiful  race  track.  The  setting  is  perfect  and 
equipment  complete.  I  picked  four  winners  (?)  and 
backed  each  with  ten  pesos  so  as  to  have  some  per- 
sonal interest  in  the  events.  Incidentally  I  may  re- 
mark that  each  horse  bet  on  was  in  the  "also  ran" 
class.  Hanson  was  with  me,  and  wanting  to  en- 
courage me,  offered  to  bet  the  sun  would  rise  on 
schedule  time  tomorrow  morning,  but  knowing  a 
permanent  eclipse  would  be  staged  if  I  accepted  the 
bet  I  refused  to  plunge  the  world  in  darkness.  Yes- 
terday afternoon  the  clouds  all  cleared  away,  giv- 
ing us  a  chance  to  see  the  full  beauty  of  the  beauti- 
ful place,  and  it  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  see  a 
rare  sight.  I  climbed  to  the  summit  of  San  Lucia 
and  from  there  watched  the  shadows  from  the 
western  range  creep  over  the  plain,  cover  the 
city  and  climb  the  side  of  the  mighty  Corderillos 
to  the  east.  The  heavy  storms  of  the  past  week 
enveloped  the  range  in  a  mantle  of  snow,  almost 
down  to  the  level  of  the  plain,  and  the  rays  of  the 
setting  sun  lit  this  with  an  unearthly  glory.  When 
I  first  reached  the  hill  top  the  snow  shone  like 
burnished  silver,  but  when  the  shadows  gathered, 


134   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

this  silvery  drapery  changed,  first  to  pearly  gray, 
then  it  took  on  a  peach  bloom  pink,  growing  deeper 
in  color  until  the  summit  became  blood-red,  and 
these  blood-red  peaks  were  clearly  outlined  against 
a  sky  of  translucent  turquoise.  The  picture  will 
never  leave  me,  nor  will  I  ever  see  anything  so 
beautiful  short  of  the  Throne  of  Go  1. 

Yesterday  mofning  I  was  up  at  5  o'clock,  and, 
after  a  cheerless  breakfast  in  my  bedroom,  and  a 
rickety  ride  through  a  downpour  of  rain,  I  reached 
the  (wrong)  station  en  route  to  Los  Andes.  Either 
my  Spanish  was  at  fault,  or  the  Ford  engineer  was 
sleepy,  and  a  perilious  ride  to  the  other  station  was 
necessary.  It  was  nearly  two  miles  and  only  eight 
minutes  to  make  it,  so  it  was  a  case  of  "muy  pronto." 
The  driver  understood  that  time  and  he  sure  made 
it  pronto  all  right.  The  streets  were  slippery  as 
ice,  and  when  we  negotiated  a  curve  I  thanked 
heaven  the  streets  were  wide  and  traffic  light.  At 
one  point  the  warning  clangor  of  a  street  car  gong 
suggested  caution  to  the  driver.  The  next  thing  1 
knew  we  had  turned  completely  around  and  were 
going  the  other  way,  as  if  the  Old  Nick  was  after 
us.  By  the  time  power  was  shut  off  and  we  had 
headed  the  right  way,  the  street  car  had  passed, 
and  the  maniac  at  the  wheel  proceded  to  make  up 
lost  time.  I  made  the  train  with  three-sixteenths 
of  a  second  to  the  good,  and  am  convinced  the 
"Old  Master"  has  work  for  me  to  do  in  the  world, 
or  that  would  have  been  my  last  earthly  ride. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   135 

The  gray  dawn  presented  a  dreary  scene.  The 
continued  rains  had  made  a  sodden  swamp  of  the 
landscape,  and  bedraggled  citizens  hanging  around 
the  stations  where  we  stopped  did  not  improve  the 
''ensemble."  We  changed  cars  at  Llay-Llay  and 
running  the  length  of  the  valley  of  the  same  name, 
landed  at  Los  Andes  at  11:30.  I  thought  it  had 
rained  whilst  I  was  en  route  to  the  station  in 
Santiago,  but  it  was  only  a  little  shower.  Here  it 
really  and  truly  rained.  It  eased  off  to  the  modest 
shower  experienced  in  the  early  morning  hours, 
and  I  was  able  to  wade  to  the  shops  of  the  Trans- 
Andean  railroad.  Every  courtesy  was  shown  me 
by  the  general  manager,  Mr.  Woodbridge,  and  the 
chief  engineer,  Mr.  Fishwick.  Later  on  I  enjoyed 
a  cup  of  tea  in  Mr.  Cave's  office,  where  a  real  fire 
was  burning  in  a  big  open  grate.  I  immediately 
joined  the  host  of  Zoroaster  and  became  a  fire- 
worshipper,  for  the  balance  of  the  afternoon.  The 
tea,  the  fire  and  Mr.  Cave's  genial  companionship 
gave  me  the  first  thoroughly  comfortable  period 
I  had  enjoyed  since  leaving  Mollendo. 

Mr.  Woodbridge  tells  me  this  is  the  most  severe 
winter  they  have  had  in  fourteen  years.  Th«  road 
has  been  blocked  since  the  16th  of  May,  and  no 
prospect  of  being  open  until  September.  I  sug- 
gested to  Mr.  Woodbridge  that  a  few  snowsheds 
and  tunnels  might  improve  the  situation,  and  he 
told  me  plans  to  that  end  had  been  made  and  that 
as  soon  as  the  Chilian  and  Argentine  governments 


136    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

agreed  upon  these  plans  the  present  perils  and  de- 
lays would  be  at  an  end.  I  very  much  wish  these 
plans  had  been  carried  out  before  my  visit,  for 
the  blockade  compells  me  to  make  the  trip  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan.  But  it  cannot  be  any 
more  uncomfortable  than  my  ride  to  Los  Andes, 
nor  more  perilous  than  my  ride  between  stations 
this  morning,  so  why  worry.  Reaching  Santiago 
at  one  A.  M.,  and  feeling  very  much  alive,  after  the 
strenuous  day,  I  believed  myself  equal  to  round- 
ing Cape  Horn  in  a  wind-jammer,  if  neeed  be. 
Not  only  is  Santiago  an  attractive  city,  but  it  is 
also  a  great  business  center.  There  are  many 
stores  that  will  compare  favorably  with  our  own, 
and  many  industries  are  located  here.  One  of  them 
comes  in  competition  with  me,  in  that  a  fairly  good 
leather  belt  is  made  in  the  town,  but  we  have  a 
good  trade  established  already,  and  it  sure  to 
grow.  The  metal  outlook  is  also  good,  being  han- 
dled by  the  International  Machinery  Company. 
The  manager,  Mr.  Jory,  and  his  staff,  did  every- 
thing possible  to  further  our  interests  throughout 
the  country. 

The  sun  came  out  gloriously  just  as  the  train 
was  leaving  Santiago  yesterday,  making  the  part- 
.  ing  scene  one  fair  to  behold.  Heavy  broken  clouds, 
the  color  of  ashes  of  roses,  banked  the  mountain 
side,  but  allowed  the  snow-clad  peaks  to  show 
like  cut  and  burnished  silver  against 
the      azure      sky.      Had     the      past      week     been 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    187 

like  yesterday  afternoon,  I  would  have  found 
some  excuse  to  stay  on  for  at  least  another  month. 
But  a  continuation  of  such  weather  as  we  have  had 
during  the  past  ten  days  would  make  me  lose  faith 
in  a  benign  Providence.  An  hour's  ride  across 
the  valley  brought  us  to  the  foot-hills.  They  soon 
shut  out  the  view  of  all  save  the  lofty  mountains, 
and  they  seemed  to  get  no  farther  away  until  a 
lesser  mountain  range  shut  off  the  view  entirely 
The  train  followed  the  winding  course  of  the  fussy 
little  river,  and  what  a  time  it  was  having!  The 
rains  of  the  past  week  had  made  the  little  rascal 
feel  his  importance,  and  he  whirled  and  gurgled 
and  danced  and  sparkled.  At  one  place  he  tried  to 
make  a  big  noise  for  large  stones  had  tried  to  block 
his  way. 

We  finally  reached  the  summit  of  the  middle 
range,  passed  through  the  gateway  of  the  giant 
boulders,  and  looked  down  upon  the  Llay-Llay 
valley.  It  is  level,  and  seemingly  as  smooth  as  a 
ballroom  floor,  and  shut  in  on  all  sides  by  lofty 
mountains ;  some  of  them  snowclad.  It  is  certain- 
ly a  gem,  and  was  but  one  of  a  series,  Calera,  Qui- 
lotta,  San  Pedro,  and  Limachi.  All  are  located  in 
perfect  little  nests  from  which  one  would  think  all 
evil  things  were  shut  out.  Finally  el  Salto,  the 
sharp  dip  to  sea  level,  Vina  del  Mar  and  Valparaiso. 


138    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE 

THE  BIG  STORM. 

CHAPTER  XI. 


"Cease    rude    Boreas,    blustering    railer, 

List  ye  landsmen  all  to  me. 
Messmates,  hear  a  brother  sailor 

Sing  the  dangers  of  the  sea.".  (Old  Song.) 


The  bad  weather  that  had  held  us  for  five  days 
at  Valparaiso  let  up  yesterday  morning,  and  the 
"Chiloe"  was  able  to  finish  taking  cargo.  At  mid- 
night we  slipped  moorings  and  started  on  our  long 
journey  to  Punta  Arenas.  I  looked  up  the  chief 
engineer  soon  as  I  got  on  board,  and  after  intro- 
ducing myself  said,  ''Well,  Chief,  what  kind  of  a  trip 
are  we  going  to  have?"  He  looked  at  me  for  a 
moment  as  if  trying  to  discover  if  I  was  timid,  and 
then  said,  ''Good  Lord,  man,  didn't  you  see  the  three 
padres  come  on  board?"  I  said,  "Yes,  are  they  go- 
ing with  us?"  The  expression  on  his  face  did  not 
indicate  much  reverence  for  the  cloth,  and  his  an- 
swer was,  "Yes,  they  are  going  with  tts,  and  we 
are  going  to  have  a  hell  of  a  time."  There  had 
been  quite  a  storm  for  several  days  but  only  a 
modest  sea  was  running  as  we  rounded  the  point. 
We  had  a  most  comfortable  night,  for  the  ship  was 
loaded  to  the  guards,  which  will  insure  smooth 
sailing  unless  we  strike  unusually  heavy  weather. 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    139 

We  have  congratulated  ourselves  today  (July  10th) 
for  having  gotten  clear  of,  and  even  escaping  the 
bad  effects  of  the  storm.  Just  before  leaving 
Valparaiso  I  bought  a  copy  of  the  Sunday  Times  of 
June  1st ;  it  being  the  latest  edition  from  the  States. 
It  had  the  details  of  our  conquest  of  the  Atlantic 
by  airship,  and  it  made  good  reading.  It  is  a  pity 
the  journey  was  broken,  but  nevertheless  it  was 
our  own  Read  of  the  navy  who  blazed  the  way  for 
Kipling's  Night  Mail.  Events  move  swiftly  these 
days  and  we  will  soon  be  booking  passage  for  Eu- 
rope via  the  "Sky  Line  Limited."  I  was  awakened 
in  the  morning  by  rain  driving  into  my  porthole 
and  found  we  had  anchored  during  the  night.  The 
rain  was  coming  downi  in  sheets,  but  no  wind,  so 
I  fastened  my  port  and  turned  over  for  another 
wink  of  sleep.  When  the  steward  called  me  I 
thought  we  had  put  to  sea  again,  for  we  were  listed 
over  as  if  a  gale  on  the  port  beam  was  blowing. 
Dressing  quickly  I  went  on  deck  to  face  a  smother 
of  rain  and  a  gale  blowing.  All  anchors  were  down 
and  steam  on  in  case  she  drifted.  We  were  inside  a 
"bight,"  the  end  of  which  was  decorated  with  what 
is  left  of  a  good  ship  that  had  sought  shelter  from 
just  such  a  storm  as  this  but  had  made  a  bad  cal- 
culation. We  were  fairly  well  sheltered,  but  there 
were  times  when  I  earnestly  hoped  the  anchor 
chain  maker  who  furnished  our  outfit  had  been 
sober  when  he  made  the  chain,  and  had  carefully 
selected   the    material,    for   we    had   a   "lee-shore" 


140   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH  A  SAMPLE   CASE    \ 

with  a  surf  curling  on  it  that  looked  as  if  it  had 
teeth  in  it.  All  of  yesterday,  and  until  two  this 
morning  the  wind  simply  howled  and  the  rain 
fell  in  driving  sheets.  I  was  glad  to  find  the 
storm  had  practically  subsided  at  8  o'clock,  for  we 
are  to  take  on  coal  here  at  Caronel,  and  I  planned 
to  go  inland  to  Concepcion  and  join  the  ship  at 
Talcahuana.  Clouds  were  dense  and  threatening, 
but  the  bay  was  relatively  quiet.  I  was  anxious  to 
see  the  lighters  come  off  promptly,  for  there  is  now 
a  margin  of  only  one  day  to  make  connection  with 
the  north-bound  boat  at  Punta  Arenas.  Before  a 
lighter  got  started  the  storm  broke  over  us  again, 
completely  blotting  out  sight  of  land,  and  at  the 
same  time  blasting  all  hopes  for  steamer  connec- 
tion. Caronel  is  a  noted  place,  for  it  is  just  off 
this  port  the  first  naval  engagement  of  the  great 
war  took  place.  It  was  here  the  English  and  Ger- 
man fleets  met,  and  somewhere  just  beyond  the 
gray  skyline,  the  Monmouth  and  Good  Hope  went 
down  with  colors  flying.  A  chap  tells  me  Von  Spee 
visited  the  club  in  Valparaiso  the  next  night  after 
the  fight,  and  boasted  that  he  could  and  would  fin- 
ish off  the  balance  of  the  British  fleet  in  the  same 
quick  time.  But  the  chill  waters  of  the  South 
Atlantic  soon  closed  over  his  ships  and  him,  and 
silenced  forever  his  boasting  tongue.  There  is 
no  pity  in  the  hearts  of  men  when  they  think  of 
his  fate,  for  he  would  allow  no  effort  to  be  made 
to  rescue  his  gallant  foes. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    141 

This  is  the  coal  center  of  Chili,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  of  it  being  a  "Coaling  Center."  Certainly 
there  are  no  Brown  hoisting  machinery  coal-car 
dumping  devices  in  sight,  and  there  will  be  no  load- 
ing at  the  rate  of  1,000  tons  per  hour  when  we  do 
begin.  We  are  anchored  in  a  little  bay  partly 
sheltered  by  a  curving  shore  line,  and  further 
protected  by  the  large  island  of  Santa  Maria,  which 
breaks  the  great  rollers  that  seem  to  breed  in 
these  waters.  Even  during  the  severe  storm  of 
Friday  and  Friday  night  there  was  no  heavy  sea 
running,  and  we  soon  had  cause  to  thank  Heaven 
for  this  shelter,  for  Saturday  afternoon  the  real 
storm  hit  us,  and  the  next  thirty-six  hours  were 
highly  sensational.  Several  ships  sought  shelter 
here  Saturday  afternoon,  and  we  had  some  neigh- 
bors Sunday  morning  altogether  too  near  for  our 
peace  of  mind,  for  every  ship  was  tugging  at  its 
anchor,  and  swinging  wildly  in  the  gale.  The  Paci- 
fic Steam  Navigation  ship  Chili  lay  just  ahead  of 
us,  and  the  collier  Puno  just  ahead  of  her.  At 
11  o'clock  Sunday  morning  the  Puno  began  to 
drift,  and  there  was  a  breathless  moment  when  she 
collided  with  the  Chili.  It  looked  like  a  real  smash 
for  a  while,  but  the  Chili  paid  out  anchor  chains 
rapidly  and  the  Puno  cleared  with  but  little  dam- 
age to  either  ship.  In  the  meantime  the  gale  had 
increased,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the  pampero 
I  experienced  in  Montivideo  years  ago  and  the 
cyclone  in  St.  Louis,  I  have  never  known  it  to  blow 


142    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

SO  hard.  The  storm  would  pause  as  if  to  gather 
force.  Then  it  would  come  down  on  us,  shrieking 
as  if  all  the  fiends  of  the  nether  world  had  gotten 
together  to  overwhelm  us.  These  seething  blasts 
would  sweep  over  us,  followed  by  a  lull,  and  come 
again  with  greater  fury,  and  so  the  day  passed  in 
our  battle  with  the  elements.  Newspapers  from 
Concepcion  reached  us  Monday  with  incomplete 
accounts  of  the  disaster  along  the  coast.  The  road^ 
stead  at  Valparaiso  has  been  swept  clean  of  all 
vessels.  Twenty-three  large  ships  were  either 
sent  to  the  bottom  or  on  the  rocks.  Launches 
and  freight  barges  were  lifted  over  the  sea  wall 
and  dropped  into  the  streets  of  the  city.  Two  and 
one-half  million  dollars  damage  is  reported  in  Val- 
paraiso alone,  with  other  ports  to  hear  from.  It 
is  one  of  the  greatest  storms  on  record,  and  the 
total  loss  will  be  appalling. 

Ever  since  the  famous  missionary  tried  to  avoid 
service  in  Nineveh  and  did  penance  in  the  whale's 
belly,  pious  sailors  have  made  the  sign  of  the  cross 
and  whispered  a  prayer,  whilst  the  impious  ones 
have  cussed  outright  whenever  a  priest  takes  pas- 
sage on  a  ship,  and  the  superstition  holds  good  in 
our  case.  Our  three  priests  are  booked  for  Buenos 
Aires,  which  means  I  am  in  for  a  dickens  of  a  time, 
in  case  old  Jonah  did  pass  the  buck  to  his  suc- 
cessors. Of  course  it  is  only  a  coincidence,  but  it 
is  nevertheless  strange  that  when  it  became  quiet 
enough  for  boats  to  come  out  to  us  Sunday  after- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    148 

noon  and  the  padres  left  us  there  was  no  renewal 
of  the  storm.  By  midnight  all  the  storm  clouds 
had  cleared  away  and  a  glorious  full  moon  lit  up 
a  scene  that,  except  for  the  surf  thundering  on  the 
shore,  would  indicate  "peace  on  earth,  good  will  to- 
ward men."  Monday  morning  the  sun  came  up  in  a 
cloudless  sky  and  the  work  of  taking  on  coal  be- 
gan. We  were  doing  so  nicely  that  I  commented 
on  our  progress  to  one  of  our  ship's  officers,  and 
he  said,  "Yes,  and  if  the  blooming  sandal -footed 
saints,  bad  luck  to  them,  (here  he  crossed  him- 
self, for  he  is  a  good  Catholic)  only  happen  to  get 
side-tracked  in  Concepcion  until  we  sail,  sure  I'll 
thank  Heaven,  for  we  are  not  likely  to  make  Punta 
Arenas  before  next  Christmas  if  they  get  back." 
Taking  on  the  coal  was  a  slow  process,  and  work 
had  to  stop  at  sundown  which  means  another  day 
here.  But  the  padres  are  still  on  shore  and  we 
have  prospects  of  fair  weather  until  the  coal  is 
loaded.  We  can  then  be  on  our  way,  and  perhaps 
make  the  channel  before  another  storm  l^reaks. 

We  finished  coaling  late  Wednesday  night  and 
got  under  way  to  Talcahuana  in  good  shape  "sin 
padres."  Here  we  learned  of  further  disaster  in 
Valparaiso,  and  the  storm  of  the  night  before, 
which,  however,  did  not  reach  us,  had  sent  $20,- 
000,000  worth  of  wheat  and  other  merchandise  to 
the  bottom  at  this  port,  but  no  large  vessels  were 
lost.  One  of  the  Valparaiso  papers  announced  the 
sinking  of  the  Chiloe,  with  all  on  board,  and,  fear- 


144   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ing  word  would  reach  the  States  and  have  my 
friends  investing  in  crepe  arm  decorations,  I  ca- 
bled New  York  that  all  was  well,  and  asked  them  to 
send  word  down  the  line  to  the  anxious  ones.  The 
last  report  we  have  from  Valparaiso  tells  of  200,- 
000,000  pesos  (about  $45,000,000)  damage,  and  a 
record  of  over  200  lives  lost  in  that  harbor  alone, 
with  no  definite  word  from  other  sections.  When 
the  story  is  all  told  it  wall  record  a  greater  dis- 
aster to  Chili  than  the  earthquake  which  visited 
Valparaiso  and  vicinity  in  1906.  And,  no  doubt, 
the  destruction  of  property  in  Valparaiso  alone 
will  be  nearly  as  great,  with  a  vast  coast  line  af- 
fected. The  captain  told  me  he  would  not  sail 
without  me  in  case  I  wished  to  visit  Concepcion, 
so  after  sending  my  cable  and  paying  a  visit  to 
Grace  8z  Co.,  I  boarded  the  trolley  for  the  inland 
town.  Flooded  fields  and  roadways,  with  broken 
telegraph  poles  told  the  story  of  the  storm  all 
along  the  line,  but  the  town  of  Concepcion  evi- 
dently did  not  suffer  much.  Had  it  not  been  such 
a  black  day  I  would  doubtless  have  found  it  an  at- 
tractive town,  but  it  began  to  rain  heavily,  so  I 
returned  in  the  same  car,  arriving  on  board  in  time 
for  lunch. 

Talcahuana  is  the  naval  dockyard  of  Chili,  and 
I  would  like  to  have  looked  it  over,  but  the  streets 
were  full  of  mud,  and  rain  falling  at  intervals,  so 
I  did  not  go  on  shore  again,  although  we  tlid  not 
^ail  until  evening.    During  the  afternoon  tj^e  chief 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    145 

engineer  and  doctor  were  having-  rifle  practice 
with  the  pretty  little  diver  ducks  that  were  dotting 
the  water  everywhere.  The  chief  succeeded  in 
wounding  one  and  tried  several  more  shots  to  put 
it  out  of  its  misery,  but  could  not  make  a  hit.  I 
then  had  a  try  but  it  had  gotten  too  far  away.  In 
a  minute  or  two  it  was  joined  by  its  mates  and  I 
watched  them  with  a  ])ain  in  my  heart  because  of 
the  suffering  a  thoughtless  shot  had  caused.  At 
6  P.  M.,  we  got  under  way,  but  the  padres  were 
on  board,  and  we  had  only  gotten  clear  of  the 
sheltering  land  when  wx  butted  into  as  ugly  a 
sea  as  one  could  imagine.  Fortunately  dinner  was 
over  or  we  would  have  had  as  much  difficulty  keep- 
ing food  on  the  tables,  as  most  of  the  ship's  com- 
pany had  in  keeping  it  on  their  stomachs  later  on. 
It  was  necessary  to  batten  down,  with  all  portholes 
closed,  so  I  stayed  up  until  the  lights  went  out. 
By  that  time  I  was  sleepy  and  had  a  good  night, 
although  the  cabin  was  stuffy.  The  bath  next 
morning  Avas  an  heroic  game,  but  I  got  through 
at  last  and  came  on  deck  to  find  it  clearing  up  a 
bit,  and  the  ship  making  good  headway.  At  2  P. 
M.,  we  reached  Corral,  the  port  of  Valdivia,  but 
the  anchor  had  only  just  reached  bottom  when  an- 
other one  of  those  gentle  showers,  so  numerous 
the  last  few  days,  blotted  out  the  sight  of  land 
and  sent  all  of  us  to  cover.  The  captain  told  me 
we  would  sail  at  four  this  morning,  but  he  evident- 
ly had  forgotten  our  Jonahs,  for  it  is  now  noon, 


146   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

and  we  are  still  "safe  within  the  vale,"  and  an- 
other norther  tearing  things  to  pieces.  If  these 
padres  are  wise  they  will  begin  praying  for  three 
big  good-natured  whales  to  arrive  in  this  vicinity, 
for  there  will  be  a  job  for  them  sure  if  this  thing 
keeps  up. 

It  was  6  P.  M.,  Saturday,  after  a  twenty-eight 
hour  stay  at  Corral,  before  the  captain  felt  he 
could  take  the  risk  of  leaving  port,  and  we  had 
only  cleared  the  headlands  before  people  on  l)oard 
were  wishing  we  did  not  have  such  a  brave  com- 
mander, for  we  surely  hit  the  real  thing  in  short 
order.  Just  as  she  began  to  lift  and  fall  good  and 
proper,  the  dinner  gong  sounded.  Only  four  passen- 
gers came  to  the  table,  and  one  of  them  beat  a 
hasty  retreat.  Mr.  Burbury,  Riddle  and  myself 
stuck  it  out,  but  ate  literally  from  hand  to  mouth, 
for  the  steward  would  bring  one  order,  and  we  held 
it  in  our  hand  until  finished,  for  nothing  could  be 
left  standing  on  the  table  for  a  moment.  Taking- 
it  all  through  the  scout  boats  in  the  North  Sea 
during  a  winter  storm  had  nothing  on  us  by  way 
of  sensational  dining.  After  dinner  I  tried  to  read, 
but  would  have  to  be  fastened  in  to  keep  my  seat, 
so  at  nine  o'clock  I  turned  in  and  experienced  one 
of  the  wildest  nights  I  have  ever  spent  on  the 
ocean.  Our  ship  rode  like  a  duck,  but  even  a  duck 
can  get  his  tail  feathers  ruffled  at  times,  and  we 
certainly  did  get  hammered.  I  was  on  the  lee  side, 
and  when  a  sea  would  hit  her,  the  berth  would 
literally  go  out  from  under  me,  giving  me  the  sen- 


A  -J 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    147 

sation  of  flying  through  the  air.  When  I  would 
settle  down  I  would  feel  a  shiver  run  through  the 
ship,  and  her  beams  would  cry  out  as  if  in  pain. 
That,  with  a  crash  from  time  to  time  when  some- 
thing would  break  loose,  gave  us  a  restless  night. 
Even  my  friend  Burbury,  who  is  a  devout  Catho- 
lic, joined  the  chorus  this  morning.  Later  in  the 
day  I  saw  him  in  earnest  conversation  with  two 
of  the  padres,  and  I  think  he  was  telling  them 
"the  worst  was  yet  to  come,"  advising  them  at 
the  same  time,  as  a  friend  of  the  church  and  a 
well-wisher,  to  leave  the  ship  at  Porte  Monte  and 
make  their  way  over  the  mountains  to  Buenos 
Aires  when  the  good  weather  comes.  But  he  did 
not  picture  the  terrors  of  Smith's  channel  with 
sufficient  force,  for  we  have  just  left  port  and  they 
are  still  with  us.*  There  was  no  move  made  by 
any  of  them  to  go  ashore,  for  they  are  convinced 
that  if  we  could  once  get  them  off  the  ship  they 
would  never  see  us  again.  It  is  really  pathetic,  for 
everyone  has  a  jab  at  them,  and  they  have  gotten 
sensitive  on  the  subject.  At  tea  today  one  of  them 
said  it  was  a  cruel  superstition  to  think  a  man  of 
God  could  bring  disaster  to  a  ship.  Well,  Jonah 
was  a  man  of  God  all  right,  but  he  had  to  go  over- 
board just  the  same. 

It  is  comforting  to  know  the  sheltering  islands 
will  be  about  us  for  the  next  two  days,  and  we 
hope  the  storm  will  have  blown  itself  out  before 
we  round  Cape  Tres  Montes  and  enter  the  Gulf  of 
Penas,  for  it  has  a  bad  reputation. 


148    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

"A  RAINBOW   IN  THE  MORNING." 

CHAPTER  XII. 

At  Hincha  we  loaded  about  2,000  sacks  of  po- 
tatoes on  deck,  and  in  the  opinion  of  all  on  board 
we  already  had  as  much  cargo  as  the  ship  could 
carry  safely.  When  we  anchored  at  Castro  an 
''Indignation  meeting"  was  held  in  the  fo'castle, 
and  a  committee  of  sailors  went  up  to  the  captain 
to  protest  against  what  they  considered  a  danger- 
ous load.  There  was  a  stormy  scene,  and  the  old 
man  bellowed  like  the  bull  of  Bashan.  Some  of 
the  passengers  had  gone  on  shore,  and  when  they 
returned  to  the  ship  they  told  how  the  people  had 
shook  their  heads  when  they  saw  how  little  free- 
board we  were  carrying,  and  the  top-heavy  load 
we  had.  My  opinion  was  asked,  and  I  told  Mr. 
Burbury  I  thought  we  had  loaded  below  the  regis- 
ter mark,  and  considered  her  unsafe  if  we  met  any 
rough  weather  rounding  Cape  Raper  and  cross- 
ing the  Gulf  of  Penas.  This  decided  Mr.  Burbury 
to  make  protest,  and  he  went  to  the  bridge ;  but  the 
captain  had  not  cooled  off  yet,  and  the  only  satis- 
faction he  got  was  that  he,  the  captain,  would  put 
another  thousand  bags  on  board  if  he  felt  so  dis- 
posed, and  that  no  attention  would  be  paid  to  any 
further  protests.     Hearing  this  report  gave  me  an 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    149 

uncomfortable  feeling,  for  it  seemed  the  very  limit 
had  been  reached,  so  after  dinner  I  made  a  journey 
to  the  bridge.  By  this  time  the  old  man  had  blown 
off  steam,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  visit.  He  as- 
sured me  we  had  eight  inches  of  free  board  yet  by 
register,  and  that  if  we  should  get  into  a  blow  out- 
side he  would  cut  the  ropes  and  a  broaching  sea 
would  take  care  of  the  excess  cargo,  as  she  had 
heavy  tonnage  down  below  that  would  absorb 
the  shock.  This  reassured  me  very  much  tnitil 
Burbury  called  my  attention  to  the  fact  that 
an  attempt  to  jettison  the  cargo  with  a 
broaching  sea  would  inevitably  carry  away  the 
steering  gear,  which,  upon  investigation  proved  to 
be  correct,  and  he  proceeded  to  tell  me  an  experi- 
ence he  had  in  the  early  part  of  the  South  African 
war  when  he  was  sent  across  to  Cape  Town  wnth 
a  deck  load  of  horses.  The  captain  of  the  ship 
found  it  necessary  to  jettison  his  deck  load,  which 
he  voluntarily  or  involuntarily  tried  to  do  by  broach- 
ing. He  got  rid  of  his  load  all  right,  but  the 
stearing  gear  went  along  with  it,  and  they  had  a 
few  distressing  hours,  which,  had  there  been  a 
lee  shore,  would  have  meant  one  less  successful 
sheep  rancher  in  Terra  del  Fuego.  As  there  is 
aothing  but  lee  shores  in  these  waters,  I  would 
rather  not  face  a  blow.  In  fact  there  has  been 
sufficient  entertainment  along  this  line  for  the  last 
two  weeks.  We  got  away  from  Castro  early  this 
morning,  and  had  a  pleasant  run  into  Melinka,  and 


150    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

anchored  there  for  the  night,  as  we  were  clear  of 
Corcovada  Bay,  and  at  the  entrance  of  Movaleda 
Channel.  This  is  good  water,  but  not  safe  to  navi- 
gate after  dark.  This  morning  we  had  a  wide  stretch 
of  water  on  each  side  of  the  ship,  but  land  was 
visible  all  around.  Later  we  passed  quite  close  to 
Transito  Island,  and  the  white  surf  made  a  picture 
of  solemn  grandeur.  All  along  the  shore  of  Chiloe 
and  the  smaller  nearby  islands  there  was  evidence 
of  habitations.  Small  farms  were  everywhere 
plotted  out,  with  many  seemingly  comfortable 
houses,  but  after  leaving  Melinka  we  saw  nothing 
but  uninhabited  atolls  and  larger  islands.  Riddle 
tells  me  it  would  take  ten  acres  of  this  land  to 
keep  one  goat,  and  if  that  is  the  case,  it  is  one  sec- 
tion of  the  world  where  a  lodge  in  some  vast  wil- 
derness can  always  be  found,  but  whoever  would 
be  idiot  enough  to  seek  it  is  another  question.  At 
noon  the  wind  changed  to  the  northwest  again, 
and  the  barometer  began  to  turn  handsprings. 
Passing  the  shelter  of  James  Island  a  hail  and 
sleet  storm  swept  down  upon  us  for  ten  minutes, 
and  presented  a  wild  scene.  The  island  has  several 
snow-clad  peaks,  and  around  them  whirled  the 
black  storm  clouds,  lit  up,  or  rather  made  more 
intense,  by  the  rays  of  a  winter  sun,  that  shot 
across  them  for  a  moment.  Shortly  after  the 
course  was  changed,  and  we  again  hunted  cover 
from  the  storm  for  the  night.  It  might  be  men- 
tioned, in  passing,  that  we  added  a  further  hoodoo 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    151 

at  Castro  by  taking  on  a  "cadaver,"  and  this,  to- 
gether with  the  other  "Jonahs"  on  board,  will  make 
a  memorable  trip  unless  all  sailor  superstitions  are 
at  fault.  But  we  are  safe  in  a  veritable  little  sea 
nest  where  we  could  ride  safely  in  a  gale  that 
would  lift  the  crown  off  the  Andes,  and,  from  the 
looks  of  things,  it  will  be  no  surprise  if  we  contem- 
plate the  scenery  and  congratulate  ourselves  for  the 
next  three  days,  for  another  norther  is  coming. 

The  night  before  we  reached  Porte  Monte  I 
overheard  one  of  our  passengers  talking  with  the 
captain  about  the  prospect  of  nine  passengers  com- 
ing on  board.  The  captain  said  they  would  be 
crowded  to  full  capacity.  This  seemed  to  disturb 
our  good  friend  very  much,  and  he  said ;  "Well,  I 
certainly  hope  you  will  not  put  some  chap  in  with 
me  whose  idea  of  a  l^ath  is  to  squirt  some  perfume 
on  himself,  and  powder  his  nose."  After  some  fur- 
ther talk  the  captain  suggested  that  he  accept  his 
cabin,  as  he,  the  captain,  would  have  but  little  use 
for  it  during  the  balance  of  the  trip.  This  was 
politely  refused,  and  a  young  Englishman  was 
suggested  as  a  roommate.  When  we  reached 
Porte  Monte  a  tough-looking  bunch  came  on 
board,  amongst  whom  was  an  American  of  the 
type  we  are  not  specially  proud  of,  and  he  prompt- 
ly set  up  a  howl,  because  no  separate  cabin  was 
available.  When  Mr.  B.  saw  the  crowd  he  prompt- 
ly looked  up  the  steward  and  had  the  young  man 
sent  to  his  cabin.     I  was  thanking  my  stars,  for 


152    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

whilst  my  roommate  was  a  Chilian  he  was  a  thor- 
oughly decent  chap,  and  I  was  well  pleased  with 
the  situation  so  long  as  they  did  not  burden  us  with 
a  third  party,  and  that,  to  judge  by  the  crowd  we 
already  had  and  the  crowd  that  came  on  board, 
seemed  highly  probable.  Going  to  my  cabin  after 
dinner  I  found  the  steward  busy  getting  my  ship- 
mates' baggage  out  of  our  room.  I  was  scared  stiff, 
for  a  moment,  fearing  the  unknown,  and  could 
scarcely  credit  my  senses  when  told  my  friend  was 
being  transferred  to  the  young  Englishman's 
room,  and  I  was  to  have  my  cabin  "solo."  The 
next  day  Mr.  B.  came  to  my  room,  an,d  seeing  one 
berth  turned  up,  we  had  the  following  dialogue : 
"Do  you  have  this  cabin  alone?"  "Yes."  "Well, 
how  the  devil  did  you  work  it?"  "Well,  the  joke 
is  on  you,  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  and  I  told  him  what 
had  happned.  He  was  profanely  chagrined,  for  he 
is  an  Englishman,  with  all  the  Englishman's  re- 
serve, and  he  wished  to  be  alone,  but  being  an 
Englishman  he  was  also  a  good  sport,  and  joined 
in  the  laugh  at  his  expense,  only  saying,  "This  was 
a  case  where  I  talked  too  damn  much."  A  cabin 
to  oneself  is  much  to  be  thankful  for,  but  I  do 
wish  it  had  been  at  the  expense  of  some  less  de- 
cent chap. 

I  have  just  come  in  from  a  turn  around  the  deck, 
and  never  remember  of  being  in  a  place  of  such 
complete  isolation  on  board  of  a. ship.  A  black,  star- 
less sky  hangs  above  US,  whilst  all  around  "are  th^ 


AROU-ND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   153 

silent  hills,  with  not  even  a  friendly  candle  to  tell 
us  land  is  near,  but  we  are  safe  from  the  gale  that 
is  sweeping  over  the  hill  tops,  and  are  far  more 
comfortable  than  we  would  be  bucking  the  giant 
seas  which  this  storm  has  kicked  up  during  the 
past  two  weeks.  The  beautiful  rainbow  which 
arched  the  sky  in  radiant  colors  yesterday  morn- 
ing had  its  significance,  for  all  night  long  the  wind 
was  surging  down  between  the  hills,  and  sang  a 
dirge  that  caused  more  than  one  of  the  ship's  crew 
and  company  to  thank  Heaven  for  our  snug  berth. 
At  six  o'clock  we  got  under  way  and  headed 
through  Moraleda  Channel  and  attempted  the  pass- 
age around  Kent  Island,  but  ran  into  a  sea  that 
was  simply  appalling.  I  was  on  the  bridge  and 
witnessed  a  clever  piece  of  seamanship  in  turning 
her  into  Darwin  Channel.  The  sea  was  mountain- 
ous and  our  ship  was  a  plaything  in  the  mighty 
waters.  When  the  turn  was  made  the  waves  came 
on  like  racehorses,  lifting  the  ship  like  a  cockle 
shell  and  swirling  past  us.  They  chased  us  right 
into  the  channel,  and  it  was  only  after  we  had 
rounded  one  of  the  sharp  bends  that  we  got  clear 
of  the  beasts.  Then  came  a  long  stretch  of  quiet 
water  leading  us  between  abrupt  shores,  densely 
wooded,  with  snow-clad  crowns  that  were  extreme- 
ly picturesque.  At  one  o'clock  we  reached  a  shel- 
tered section  and  came  to  anchor.  This  w^as  an- 
other uninhabited  world,  even  more  lonely  than 
our  anchorage  last  night.    We  made  up  an  explor- 


154    AROUND   SOrTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ing  party,  and  I  believe  we  were  the  first  white 
men  that  ever  stepped  on  that  particular  shore. 
There  is  no  such  dense  jungle  anywhere,  except, 
perhaps,  the  shore  near  Majunga  on  the  coast  of 
Madagascar,  and  even  that  was  less  forbidding.  I 
tried  in  vain  to  make  my  way  into  the  jungle,  but 
the  growth  of  countless  ages  had  built  an  unas- 
sailable wall.  At  dinner  the  captain  informed  ma 
the  barometer  was  lower  than  it  had  been  during 
the  storm,  and  even  in  this  sheltered  spot  the  angry 
winds  are  piping  an  unfriendly  tune.  During  the 
conversation  at  the  table  tales  of  the  sea  w^ere  in 
order,  and  the  captain  referred  again  to  the  super- 
stition of  having  padres  on  board,  and  said  that 
some  years  ago  he  came  out  with  one  of  the  cloth 
as  passenger,  and  at  the  end  of  nine  days,  not  hav- 
ing made  much  headway,  he  had  a  basket  packed 
w^ith  a  meagre  supply  of  food  which  he  took  to  the 
padre's  cabin,  and  informed  him  that  unless  there 
was  a  change  of  weather  at  daylight  he  would  be 
given  the  basket  and  sent  on  shore.  As  it  was 
about  as  inhospitable  a  coast  as  this  the  padre 
evidently  spent  the  night  in  supplication,  and  his 
prayers  were  answered,  for  the  change  came  on 
during  the  night,  and  the  ship  proceeded.  There 
was  a  general  plea  from  his  hearers  to  execute 
some  such  plan  with  our  Jonahs.  A  threat  to  put 
them  on  shore  here  would  have  brought  on  heart 
failure,  had  they  been  with  me  this  afternoon,  but 
the    Throne    of    Grace    would    be    bombarded    this 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    155 

night  and  we  would  sail  through  summer  seas  for 
the  balance  of  the  trip.  Some  of  us  are  getting 
a  bit  impatient,  but  Burbury  and  Riddle  should  re- 
joice exceedingly.  Riddle  has  a  new  wife,  and  Bur- 
bury  is  taking  a  cook  home.  As  there  is  no  other 
way  to  reach  Valparaiso  except  by  boat  there  is 
no  danger  of  either  of  them  losing  their  prizes,  for 
it  would  require  the  soul  of  a  Viking  to  face  these 
waters  the  second  time. 

We  were  put  on  short  rations  today  (July  25th) 
being  five  days  over-due,  and  nowhere  near  our 
destination,  but  there  are  three  live  pigs  on  our 
passenger  list,  and  two  thousand  bags  of  potatoes 
in  the  cargo  so  there  is  no  danger  of  starvation. 
However,  the  subject  has  been  discussed,  and  we 
have  it  all  fixed  in  case  we  have  to  draw  lots  to 
see  who  shall  die  that  the  others  may  have  meat 
with  our  spuds.  Riddle  is  to  see  to  it  that  the  fat 
priest  gets  the  short  straw,  and  he  has  asked  to  be 
the  executioner.  This,  because  he  has  discovered 
the  intended  victim  does  the  ''goose  step"  on  deck 
over  his  cabin  every  night  in  order  to  get  his  feet 
warm  before  retiring,  and  Riddle  is  praying  for  us 
to  reach  that  extremity  in  order  to  get  revenge. 

A  start  was  made  early  this  morning  in  an  at- 
tempt to  get  around  Menchuan  Island,  but  heavy 
seas  threatened  our  deck  cargo,  and  would  have 
endangered  the  ship  had  we  reached  open  water. 
I  was  on  the  bridge  with  the  captain  and  watched 
him  maneuver  to  turn  without  getting  caught  by 


156    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

the  heavy  rollers  that  came  in  series  of  three  at 
intervals.  Had  we  gotten  caught  broadside  in  one 
of  these  interesting  periods  there  would  have  been 
a  sensation  on  our  good  ship,  but  the  work  was 
well  done,  and  my  hat  was  figuratively  lifted  in 
recognition  of  the  good  seamanship  displayed  by 
Captain  Mohlgaard.  He  is  a  Dane,  and  therefore 
a  born  sailor.  When  he  got  her  turned  we  had  a 
race  with  the  great  green  seas  that  came  thunder- 
ing behind  us  and  at  times  they  w^ere  appalling, 
but  the  good  ship  rode  them  safely  until  they 
passed  beneath  her  and  gave  place  to  another.  We 
were  running  for  Darwin  Channel  and  they  chased 
us  until  we  rounded  an  island ;  then  we  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  them  go  to  pieces  on  the 
rock-bound  shore,  while  w^e  passed  almost  instantly 
into  perfectly  smooth  water.  During  the  three 
hours'  battle  with  the  elements  there  was  more 
than  one  prayer  sent  up  to  the  Throne  of  Grace 
for  safety,  and  a  sense  of  relief  was  felt  when  we 
dropped  anchor  in  Port  Refuge.  It  was  here  Lord 
Anson's  squadron  sought  shelter  in  the  early  for- 
ties, and  his  flagship,  the  "Anna  Pink"  being  in 
trouble,  he  anchored  under  the  lee  of  Yuche-Mo, 
but  it  must  have  been  a  storm  like  this,  for  she 
had  to  slip  her  cable  and  trust  to  luck,  it  being  an 
uncharted  coast  at  that  time.  Good  fortune  was 
with  him,  for  he  drove  into  this  beautiful  haven, 
and  called  it  Port  Refuge.  Here  he  made  his  re- 
pairs  and,   to   commemorate   the   event,   he   called 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    157 

it  Anna  Pink  Bay.  Shortly  after  coming  to  anchor 
the  sky  cleared,  with  every  indication  of  a  speedy 
ending  of  the  storm,  but  the  barometer  held  a 
warning,  and  we  settled  down  to  another  night  of 
patient  waiting. 

An  early  start  was  made  from  Port  Refuge  this 
morning  for  another  supreme  effort  to  round  Tres 
Montes  and  reach  Smyth's  Channel,  where  our 
troubles  would  be  over.  I  hurried  through  break- 
fast, and  was  soon  on  the  bridge.  The  captain  was 
there  wath  a  happy  expression  on  his  face.  His 
greeting  was  cheery,  but  to  my  suggestion  that 
our  troubles  were  over  he  only  shook  his  head, 
saying  we  had  quite  an  ugly  bit  of  water  before 
us  yet,  but  the  barometer  was  in  better  shape  than 
for  two  weeks  past,  and  he  was  hoping  for  the 
best.  The  sun  was  shining  gloriously,  and  the 
squalls  that  frequently  came  up  from  the  sjiith- 
west  only  made  material  for  countless  rainbows, 
one  of  which  was  the  most  gorgeous  I  ever  be- 
held. It  formed  a  great  band  of  purple,  blue,  green, 
orange  and  deep  red,  reaching  the  zenith,  and 
the  colors  were  so  brilliant  they  cast  a  reflection  on 
the  water,  reaching  to  the  ship's  side.  I  never 
saw  anything  like  it  before,  and  never  anything 
more  beautiful.  Rainbows  |iave  flashed  on  all 
sides  for  the  past  three  days  as  if  to  recall  God's 
promise  to  the  world  and  bid  us  know  that  all  was 
w^ell,  even  though  the  great  green  seas  appeared 
so  threatening. 


158    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

At  noon  we  were  ofif  Cape  Raper  and  saw  tlie 
first  human  habitation  since  leaving  Melinka.  There 
is  a  h'ghthouse  here,  and  the-  sight  of  it  brought  a 
sense  of  companionship  not  felt  for  days.  The 
wind  had  hauled  around  to  the  southwest,  and  the 
sea  began  to  quiet  down  rapidly.  By  the  time 
Cape  Tres  Montes  was  rounded  only  long  smooth 
rollers  were  running,  and  the  motion  was  pleas- 
ant as  the  ship  passed  into  the  Gulf  of  Penas. 
This  is  another  famous  bit  of  water,  for  the  Ma- 
rine Islands  lie  just  north  in  the  small  Gulf  of  Tres 
Montes.  The  English  ship  Wager  went  on  shore 
on  one  of  these  islands  and  was  wrecked;  some  of 
the  boats  being  smashed.  When  the  weather 
cleared  and  they  got  ready  to  leave  it  was  found 
the  boats  could  not  carry  all  the  men,  so  four  of 
the  marines  volunteered  to  remain,  it  being  an- 
other evidence  of  the  loyalty  so  often  exhibited 
by  that  corps.  The  chart  book  of  the  coast  has 
the  following  foot-note ;  "Having  lost  the  yawl 
and  being  too  many  for  the  barge  to  carry,  we 
were  obliged  to  leave  four  of  our  men  behind.  The 
captain  (Cheape)  distributed  to  these  poor  fellow^s 
arms,  and  ammunition,  with  some  other  necessi- 
ties. When  we  parted  they  stood  upon  the  1)each. 
giving  us  three  cheers  and  called  out  'God  bless 
the  King.'  "  No  efifort  seems  to  have  been  made  to 
rescue  them,  but  many  years  later  a  party  landing 
on  the  same  island  found  the  ruins  of  a  hut,  but 
no  record  of  what  had  become  of  the  men.    Know- 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    159 

ing  the  class  of  ships  used  in  those  days,  and  being 
now  familiar  with  the  dangers  of  these  shore,  I 
have  a  high  regard  for  the  brave  hearts  who  sailed 
with  Drake,  Magellan,  Anson  and  Fitz  Roy.  Cape 
pigeons  flocked  about  us  off  Cape  Raper,  with  a 
dozen  or  more  stately  albatros,  and  knowing  the 
many  ships  that  have  gone  down  in  these  waters, 
some  reason  is  given  for  the  legend  that  pigeons 
contain  the  souls  of  lost  sailors,  and  the  albatros 
the  spirit  of  lost  commanders.  No  sailor  will  al- 
low one  of  them  to  be  hurt  if  he  can  prevent  it. 
At  three  o'clock  the  dome  of  San  Pedro  indicated 
the  entrance  of  Smyth's  Channel,  but  we  did  not 
make  it  until  long  after  dark. 

It  had  been  almost  a  cloudless  day,  and  the  night 
was  starlit  with  unearthly  splendor.  Venus  sent 
a  shaft  of  light  across  the  water  like  a  miniature 
moon,  whilst  the  Southern  Cross,  immediately 
overhead,  was  submerged  in  the  brilliance  of  the 
Milky  Way.  The  Magellan  cloud  piercing  this 
brilliance  with  its  inky  blackness  made  the  glory 
about  it  more  intense.  Strange  mystery  of  the  sky 
it  is,  for  no  speck  of  light  is  found  in  all  its  pro- 
found depth  ;  a  veritable  Sahara  of  the  sky,  seem- 
ingly a  plague  spot  avoided  by  all  the  celestial 
host.  Old  star  friends  of  forty  years  ago  greet- 
ed me  with  welcome  twinkles  and  kept  me  on  the 
upper  deck  until  my  body  was  chilled,  but  my 
heart  was  warmed  by  memories  these  old  friends 
recalled. 


100   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

Being  so  delayed  justified  the  captain  in  keeping 
on  throughout  the  night,  proceeding  cautiously, 
and  the  English  narrows  was  not  reached  until 
six-thirty  the  next  morning.  This  is  the  most 
difficult  place  in  all  the  Straights  passage,  as  it  is 
extremely  narrow,  with  two  sharp  turns.  This, 
taken  with  a  six-knot  tide  gives  the  skipper  a 
tense  ten  minutes.  The  courtesy  of  the  bridge 
was  extended  me,  and  it  was  interesting  to  note 
the  calculations  of  seconds,  followed  by  sharp 
commands  and  swift  response  of  our  dear  old  ship. 
Once  the  captain  caught  the  wheel  giving  it  a  sud- 
den whirl,  evidently  fearing  his  order  would  not 
be  obeyed  quickly  enough.  Ten  minutes  later 
wc  passed  into  an  open  and  comparatively  straight 
stretch,  all  dangers  past,  and  I  went  below  to  en- 
joy a  special  breakfast  friend  Doughty  had  per- 
suaded the  steward  to  have  ready  for  me.  The 
meal  was  hurried,  in  order  to  get  on  deck,  for 
we  were  passing  through  the  most  picturesque 
water-way  in  the  world.  In  many  places  the  shore 
formed  regular  canon  walls,  rising  to>  immense 
heights,  and  almost  perpendicular.  These  were 
cut  into  by  estuaries  and  festooned  by  waterfalls, 
whilst  the  water  of  the  channel,  smooth  as  a  mir- 
ror, reflected  their  grandeur  faithfully.  Keen  in- 
terest was  awakened  as  we  approached  "Icy 
Beach"  for  it  is  the  place  of  icebergs.  This  ship 
was  blockaded  there  for  eight  hours  on  the  last 
trip  up;  some  of  the  ice  masses  rising  forty  feet 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   161 

above  the  water,  which  made  them  dangerous.  A 
wide  estuary  comes  into  the  channel  at  this  point, 
and  there  is  an  immense  glacier  at  its  upper  end, 
which  contributes  regularly  to  the  ship  captain's 
troubles.  The  strong  north  wind  of  the  past  three 
weeks  had  completely  cleared  the  channel,  and 
there  was  no  obstruction,  but  early  in  the  after- 
noon the  barometer  began  to  play  more  tricks, 
and  a  blinding  snowstorm  is  a  decided  possibility, 
which  means  further  delay.  It  was  after  dark 
before  we  reached  an  anchorage,  and  it  called  for 
cautious  handling  to  bring  the  ship  to  safety,  as 
the  night  was  inky,  and  no  friendly  lighthouse  to 
show  us  the  way.  Some  Indians  came  alongside 
about  9  o'clock,  and  the  quartermaster  turned  the 
searchlight  on  them.  They  were  in  the  crudest 
kind  of  bark  canoe,  and  in  all  my  travels  I  have 
never  looked  upon  such  God-forsaken  wretches. 
There  were  two  women,  one  man  and  a  child,  and 
they  belong  to  the  "Yahgan"  or  Canoe  Indians. 
They  were  sending  up  a  plaintive  cry  of  two  words 
''Galleta  Galleta"  (biscuit)  and  "Wachiki  Wachiki" 
(whiskey).  The  purser  gave  them  a  bag  of  stale 
bread,  and  one  of  the  passengers  brought  them  a 
bottle  of  wine.  When  the  woman  climbed  up  the 
side  of  the  ship  to  get  the  wine,  the  ragged  man's 
coat  she  was  wearing  fell  open,  being  buttonless, 
and  revealed  her  body,  absolutely  nude  beneath, 
and  this  condition  when  I  was  shivering  under  a 
woolen  union  suit,  heavy  woolen  clothes  and  ul- 


162   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

ster.  I  have  seen  the  "native"  in  many  parts  of 
this  old  world,  but  the  picture  last  night  will  live 
in  my  memory  as  one  of  the  saddest. 

We  left  Poerto  Bueno  for  the  last  leg  of  our 
run,  and  made  our  way  over  quiet  waters,  making 
sharp  turns  at  times  in  following  the  channel. 
As  the  night  came  on  a  friendly  light  flashed  out  to 
guide  and  cheer  us  and  let  us  know  we  were  reach- 
ing civilization  once  more.  We  all  w^ent  to  bed 
with  a  feeling  of  relief,  for  we  had  faced  real 
perils  and  were  glad  to  know  our  port  w^as  near. 
At  eight  o'clock  we  came  to  anchor  off  the  most 
southern  town  in  the'  world.  Fitful  flashes  of 
sunlight  lit  up  the  snow-clad  hills  of  Terra  del 
Fuego  far  to  the  south,  and  as  we  had  seen  so 
little  of  it  for  the  past  three  weeks,  it  brought  fur- 
ther good;  cheer  to  our  hearts.  A  special  tug 
came  off  for  Mr.  Burbury,  and  I  was  invited  to 
accompany  his  party  on  shore.  We  landed  at  a 
long  mole  and  soon  found  ourselves  at  the  Hotel 
Royal,  tenderly  caressing  a  real  fire,  the  first  1 
had  enjoyed  for  three  months.  Along  with  the  fire 
we  had  a  pot  of  good  coffee,  bread  and  butter,  the 
latter  being  the  first  of  that  material  serving  its 
original  purpose,  for  what  w^e  had  been  eating  for 
three  weeks  was  a  very  poor  grade  of  axle  grease. 
Ten  minutes  after  reaching  my  room,  Mr.  de  la 
Concha,  the  resident  manager  of  the  Grace  Com- 
pany, was  announced,  and  gave  me  a  friendly  wel- 
come, expressing  the  hope  he  could  be  of  some  ser- 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    163 

vice  to  me  during  my  stay.  After  lunch  I  called 
on  Mr.  Brady,  our  American  consul,  and  renewed 
a  pleasant  acquaintance  began  on  my  trip  from 
New  York  to  Colon.  He  and  Mrs.  Brady  seemed 
glad  to  see  me  again,  and  I  w^as  invited  to  tea  the 
following  afternoon  to  meet  the  British  consul. 
This  w^as  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  delightful 
courtesies  that  continued  throughout  my  stay  in 
Punta  Arenas,  and  terminated  in  a  dance  the  night 
before  I  sailed,  and  for  the  time  I  utterly  for- 
got I  was  sixty  years  old.  This  was  specially  true 
after  one  of  the  dances,  for  I  found  myself  bend- 
ing over  my  partner's  shoulder  and  saying  'T  did 
not  believe  there  was  a  girl  south  of  New  Orleans 
who  could  dance  so  wonderfully."  Just  then  her 
husband  joined  us,  and,  overhearing  my  remark, 
spoiled  it  all  by  saying  ''That  is  the  third  time  I 
have  listened  to  that  story  tonight,  and  each  time 
with  a  different  lady."  If  by  chance  he  spreads 
this  information  my  reputation  for  sincerity  in 
Punta  Arenas  will  be  at  low  tide.  It  was  a  happy 
time,  and  the  event  will  be  one  of  the  many  pleas- 
ant memories  born  here. 

A  few  years  ago  Punta  Arenas  was  a  Chilian 
penal  colony  and  calling  port  for  whalers,  but  in 
recent  years  it  has  become  a  wool  center,  with  a  • 
place  in  the  commercial  sun ;  it  being  the  head- 
quarters of  the  largest  farm  for  ^heep  in  the 
world.  My  shipmate  on  the  Chiloe,  Mr.  Burbury, 
is  at  the  head  of  the  organization  and  many  hours 


164   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

passed  quickly  listening  to  the  wonderful  story  of 
its  development.  It  was  started  on  a  small  scale 
twenty  odd  years  ago,  and  has  gone  on  until  they 
own  and  control  seven  million  acres  of  fenced-in 
land,  an  acreage  larger  than  all  of  Belgium.  On 
this  property  they  maintain  vast  flocks  of  sheep 
and  herds  of  horses,  cattle  and  mules.  This  year 
they  will  shear  about  one  million  three  hundred 
thousand  sheep,  producing  20,000  bales  of  wool, 
and  will  slaughter  nearly  400,000  for  freezing  and 
canning.  The  statistics  are  bewildering  when  one 
thinks  of  an  estate  carrying  that  number  of  sheep, 
besides  15,000  cattle  and  10,000  horses  and  mules. 
They  kill  40,000  sheep  yearly  for  their  own  con- 
sumption and  lose  another  180,000  by  death  and 
straying,  all  of  which  is  met  by  a  yearly  increase 
of  about  600,000  lambs.  Spread  over  so  vast  a 
field,  and  with  such  diversified  interests  this  prop- 
osition comes  into  the  class  of  big  things,  and 
the  mangement  a  "man's  job."  It  was  therefore 
a  great  privilege  to  meet  and  talk  with  the  one 
who  handles  it  so  successfully. 

The  morning  after  my  arrival  brought  an  invi- 
tation to  dinner  from  Mr.  Burbury,  and  at  7:30 
I  stepped  out  from  crude  surroundings  into  an 
elegantly  appointed  home,  where  it  was  difficult  to 
realize  I  was  over  8,000  miles  from  New  York.  A 
genial  company  was  present,  and  after  dinner  our 
host  entertained  us  with  some  w^ell  worth  while 
music  on  a  high-toned  pipe  organ  that  v/ould  be  a 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    165 

credit  to  a  church  or  pretentious  music  hall.  I  was 
engaged  in  a  game  of  bridge  when  the  tender  notes 
of  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth"  came  afloat- 
ing  in  from  the  music  room,  and  it  w^as  a  good  ex- 
cuse for  trumping  my  partner's  ace.  For  the 
moment  all  thought  of  the  present  was  forgotten, 
and  I  was  back  in  the  Carnegie  Music  Hall  with 
Heinroth  the  last  Saturday  night  I  spent  in  Pitts- 
burgh, for  he  then  rendered  this  same  masterpiece. 
The  time  to  say  "good-night"  came  all  too  soon, 
but  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  three  such 
evenings  during  my  stay,  and  the  memory  of  them 
makes  me  want  to  return.  Nor  must  I  forget  my 
breakfast  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nixon,  and  the  little 
dinner  and  bridge  party  the  following  night,  and, 
a  few  days  later,  my  tea  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Lean. 

An  introduction  to  Mr.  Boyd  of  the  Braun, 
Blanchard  Company,  brought  a  card  to  the  Eng- 
lish Club,  with  its  pleasant  lounge  and  genial  com- 
pany, and  later  he  presented  me  to  the  general 
manager  of  the  Menendez  Company,  who  arrang- 
ed for  a  visit  to  their  coal  mines.  Their  engine 
and  "Pullman,"  in  charge  of  the  mine  manager  and 
superintendent  were  put  at  my  disposal,  and  we 
were  carried  back  into  the  hills  over  as  desolate 
a  stretch  of  country  as  there  is  on  earth.  It  was 
formerly  a  vast  forest,  and  the  stumps  and  trunks 
of  rotting  trees  added  to  the  general  desolation. 
At  the  first  cut  in  the  foot-hills  we  left  the  train 


166    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

and  examined  a  curious  bank  of  shells;  some  places 
a  solid  mass  ten  feet  thick,  showing  a  mute  evi- 
dence of  the  countless  ages  which  have  elapsed 
since  it  was  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  There  were 
two  feet  of  snow  here,  and  at  the  mine  it  was  four 
feet  deep,  with  heavy  drifts  in  places,  through 
which  we  struggled  to  reach  the  upper  opening 
of  the  mine.  The  coal  is  a  low  grade  lignite  about 
eight  feet  thick  and  was  opened  up  in  1900,  but 
was  not  worked  successfully  until  after  the  war, 
for  people  would  rather  pay  the  difference  for 
Welsh  or  Australian  coal,  so  long  as  it  was  avail- 
able. At  the  present  time  foreign  coals  are  not  to 
be  had,  so  the  mine  is  producing  about  110  tons 
daily,  which,  being  burnt  with  wood,  supplies  the 
needs  of  the  town.  It  is  at  this  time  a  good  invest- 
ment, as  they  get  $7.00  per  ton,  and  are  able  to 
keep  twenty-eight  miners  at  work.  They  are  also 
having  their  labor  troubles  with  demands  calling 
for  an  adjustment;  in  fact  there  is  as  much  dis- 
turbance in  labor  circles  here  as  elsewhere,  but  the 
large  factors  hope  to  have  it  settled  before  the 
shearing  season  comes  on,  for  then  work  must  go 
on  like  clock-work  or  cause  heavy  loss.  There  are 
two  freezing  plants  here,  but  they  are  small  com- 
pared wath  the  Explotodora  and  plants  of  Swift 
&  Co.,  and  Armour  Co.,  further  up  the  coast. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE    167 

A  TURN  FOR  THE  BETTER. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  whole  boatload  of  good  friends  braved  a  driv- 
ing snowstorm  and  a  nasty  sea  to  accompany  us 
to  the  "Argentino,"  and  in  bidding  farewell  wished 
us  better  luck  than  we  had  coming  down.  Just 
before  leaving  shore,  de  la  Concha  gave  us  a 
"salute"  in  a  bottle  of  Cliquot,  so  between  the 
smiling  friends  and  cheering  glass  we  forgot  the 
ugly  weather.  Then  too  we  had  the  comforting 
thought  that  each  day  would  bring  us  nearer  sun- 
shine and  improved  physical  surroundings,  but  I 
will  find  no  more  real  sunshine  in  the  tropics  than 
is  found  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  this  far-away 
city ;  and  so  they  made  it  seem  like  springtime  to 
me,  although  the  hills  all  about  us  were  white  with 
snow.  The  storm  let  up  before  our  friends  left, 
and  we  were  able  to  see  the  fluttering  signals  being 
waved  for  some  time  after  we  were  under  way. 
Nearing  the  shore  of  Terra  del  Fuego  I  was  able 
to  contrast  the  actual  view  with  my  preconceived 
notions  of  the  place.  I  had  pictured  it  a  rugged 
volcanic  surface,  with  smoke  and  fire  coming  out 
of  countless  craters  and  general  desolation  every- 
where. What  we  actually  saw  was  a  vast  rolling 
plain,  with  fair-sized  hills,  also  smooth  in  outline, 


168    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE 

in  the  background.  It  is  called  the  "Land  of  Fire," 
but  the  only  blaze  in  the  entire  island  would  be 
found  in  a  shepherd's  hut  or  campfire,  and  so  an- 
other romance  of  youth  is  gone.  Terra  del  Fuego 
is  really  a  great  pampas  given  over  to  the  success- 
ful growing  of  sheep  and  guanacas,  and  there  is 
not  a  giant  on  the  island  bigger  than  Donald  Mc- 
Grath,  and  he  is  only  six  feet  two. 

A  starless  winter  night  settled  down,  but  for  an 
hour  after  the  cheerful  glow  of  the  city  lights  broke 
the  dreariness  of  the  scene.  When  the  light  faded, 
those  of  us  from  the  States  began  to  picture  in 
our  minds  just  how  the  glow  from  the  lights  of 
Broadway  would  impress  us.  The  east  coast  line  is 
totally  unlike  the  western  shore.  That  coast  line 
was  imposing  at  all  times,  and,  seen  from  the  view- 
point of  a  sailor,  cruel  in  the  extreme,  with  swift 
and  uncertain  currents,  and  almost  constant  gales. 
These  gales  keep  a  sea  running  which  tests  the 
nerves  of  timid  people,  and  reduces  the  dining  saloon 
expenses  on  ships  plying  these  waters.  Ever  since 
leaving  Panama  I  have  found  the  Pacific  the  most 
unpacific  proposition  imaginable,  and  so  will  hail 
the  troubled  waters  of  the  Atlantic  with  relief,  for 
conditions  could  not  be  any  worse.  We  are  hop- 
ing for  the  best  but  are  prepared  for  the  worst, 
for  the  Jonahs  are  on  board,  this  time  four  strong. 
Several  of  our  passengers  devoutly  made  the  sign 
of  the  Cross  and  turned  up  their  left  coat  sleeve 
when  the  padres  came  on  board.     I  w^ish  they  had 


AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE    1G9 

some  fetich  which  inspired  more  faith,  for  I  do  not 
have  much  confidence  in  the  coat  sleeve  charm, 
but  the  "sacred  sign"  may  save  us  from  another 
Chiloe  experience.  Tliis  shore  is  well  marked  by 
lighthouses,  and  their  guiding  rays  give  a  feeling 
of  safety  not  felt  when  we  sailed  past  the  black, 
lightless  shores  of  Western  Patagonia.  At  ten 
o'clock  this  A.  M.  we  "ran  iruon  the  tide"  at  Rio 
Gallegos.  Let  me  explain  this  by  saying  there  is 
a  tide  here  rising  from  forty-eight  to  fifty-two 
feet,  which  means  that  shipmasters  fix  their  time 
of  entry  and  departure  with  great  care.  I  went  on 
shore  in  the  first  "Chatter,"  was  met  by  Mr.  Eric- 
son  of  the  Grace  Company  and  taken  off  to  the 
Hotel  France,  and  there  enjoyed  a  good  breakfast 
in  company  with  a  Mr.  Knight,  whom  I  had  met 
at  the  club  in  Punta  Arenas.  We  had  a  pleasant 
hour,  and  then  Mr.  Ericson  got  a  taxi  and  we  visit- 
ed the  freezing  plant  of  Swift  &  Co.  Mr.  Parkin- 
son took  us  through  the  plant,  giving  us  some  in- 
teresting data  as  we  journeyed  with  him. 

It  is  not  a  large  place,  but  they  have  a  record 
of  5,500  sheep  killed  in  one  day,  and  their  average 
during  the  season  is  around  3,000.  No  cattle  or 
hogs  are  killed  here.  This  immense  slaughter  is 
done  by  eighteen  men,  which  means  there  is  no 
time  lost.  Mr.  Parkison  tells  me  he  has  a  man  who 
can  skin  a  carcass  in  two  minutes,  leaving  the  car- 
cass and  skin  without  a  scar  from  the  knife.  The 
tide  was  out  when  we  returned  to  the  beach,  leav- 


170    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ing  a  stretch  of  mud  two  hundred  yards  wide  and  we 
had  an  hour  to  wait  before  the  scow  could  get  in  to 
us.  The  freight  for  here  has  been  handled  dur- 
ing the  day,  and  high  tide  sent  us  on  our  way  for 
Santa  Cruz.  This  wee  city  is  a  miniature  of  Galle- 
gos,  with  nothing  specially  attractive  on  shore. 
Our  next  stop  was  at  St.  Julian,  but  only  for  a 
brief  stay.  We  had  been  out  from  this  port  but 
a  few  hours  when  passengers  began  to  look  cross- 
eyed at  the  padres,  for  it  began  to  blow  great  guns. 
The  ship  was  practically  in  ballast,  and  being  light, 
she  gave  us  an  uncomfortable  night.  Groans  from 
passengers  and  ship,  with  a  constant  hammer  of 
the  steering  gear  immediately  overhead,  further 
supplemented  by  a  cross  baby  in  the  next  cabin, 
made  a  fine  combination.  The  storm  battered  for 
another  thirty-six  hours  but  the  ship  managed  to 
reach  anchorage  at  Commodor  Rivadivia  at  noon 
today,  and  we  found  it  real  homelike.  There  are 
oil  tanks  and  derricks  all  along  the  shore,  and  two 
ships  are  already  here.  We  went  on  shore  this 
afternoon  to  find  a  strike  in  full  blast,  and  a  local 
war  threatened  because  the  "winch-man"  refuses 
to  join  the  union.  He  is  the  only  one  within  a  radius 
of  300  miles  capable  of  holding  the  job,  but 
these  loyal  sons  of  the  I.  W.  W.  refuse  to  load  a 
bale  of  wool  that  he  hoists,  so  they  are  having 
something  of  a  Russian  situation  here.  The  ship's 
cargo  for  this  port  is  being  gotten  out  with  the 
help  of  the  merchants  and  their  clerks  to  whom  it 


A    Pntagronia   Chief. 


AROI  ND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    171 

is  consigned,  but  cargo  for  the  ship  must  be  left 
behind,  however  much  the  mills  may  need  wool. 

My  good  luck  has  deserted  me  for  this  trip, 
being  berthed  in  a  small  cabin  with  another  pas- 
senger. He  is  a  very  decent  chap,  but  will  abomi- 
nate the  room  with  local  cigarette  smoke,  going 
to  bed  with  one  between  his  teeth,  and  the  bath- 
room steward's  call  in  the  morning  is  a  signal  for 
another  light-up.  Coupled  with  this  discomfort 
there  is  a  "Heiney  baby"  in  the  next  cabin,  and  the 
little  beggar  howls  like  a  tomcat  all  night.  My 
roommate  swears  very  proficiently  and  thereby 
lifts  the  strain  that  would  otherwise  become  un- 
bearable ;  it  acts  as  a  counter-irritant.  We  are  now 
ten  days  out  from  Punta  Arenas,  and  not  half  way 
to  our  desitnation.  As  it  is  ordinarily  a  10-days, 
trip,  there  is  no  doubt  that  we  have  a  Jonah  on 
board.  Yesterday  being  Sunday  the  padres  fitted 
up  an  altar  in  the  smoking  room  and  held  service, 
but  I  am  satisfied  a  more  earnest  prayer  went  up 
for  fair  weather  than  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
During  the  night  they  reversed  action  if  they  were 
wise,  for  at  midnight  the  wind  changed  and  swept 
down  on  us  in  a  gale  that  came  within  a  fraction 
of  sending  us  into  collision  with  the  sister  ship 
which  came  to  anchor  near  us  yesterday.  There 
was  a  wild  panic  on  board  for  a  few  minutes, 
although  there  was  no  real  danger,  but  there  was 
more  noise  and  excitement  than  when  the  Titanic 
went  down.     The  captain  was  on  the  bridge  bel- 


172    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

lowing  like  the  fabled  bull  of  Bashan,  which  start- 
ed some  of  our  lady  passengers  into  what  my 
roommate  termed  "high-stericks"  and,  altogether, 
we  had  rather  a  lively  session  until  the  boat  began 
to  respond  to  the  propellor,  after  which  we  got  up 
anchor  and  pulled  into  a  safe  berth.  We  are  there 
now,  and  by  the  look  of  things  likely  to  stay  here 
indefinitely.  It  is  getting  on  my  nerves  a  bit,  be- 
cause of  the  dreary,  noisy,  uncongenial  crowd  on 
board.  I  protested  against  the  bunch  of  German 
officers  who  used  to  shatter  my  train  of  thought 
when  they  would  settle  down  for  a  game  of  ecarte 
on  the  Burgomeister  coming  up  the  east  coast  of 
Africa,  but  they  were  whispering  zephyrs  of  a 
star  spangled  tropical  night  compared  with  the 
Valparaiso  gale  when  our  South  American  con- 
tingent gefs  mixed  up  in  a  game  of  whiskey  poker. 
My  cabin  being  too  small,  the  deck  too  windy,  and 
the  smoking  room  too  noisy,  my  work  suffers 
along  with  my  patience  and  general  nervous  sys- 
tem. There  is  one  source  of  endless  entertain- 
ment, for  which  I  am  profoundly  thankful.  There" 
are  thousands  of  gulls  here ;  big  and  little,  black 
and  white,  gray  and  brown,  while  the  young  ones 
have  a  jacket  of  the  most  beautiful  mauve  with 
wings  of  deeper  purple.  They  are  certainly  beau- 
tiful, both  in  color  and  graceful  flight,  and  what  a 
time  they  have  when  a  scrap  pan  is  emptied  over- 
board? This  is  a  signal  for  a  wild  scramble,  and 
it  is  very  funny  to  see   some  lucky  fellow  fasten 


AROUND   SOUTH  AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE    173 

onto  a  big  chunk  of  bread  or  meat  and  start  on  his 
wild  flight  for  safety.  But  it  is  no  use.  No  soon- 
er does  he  sail  aloft  than  he  finds  himself  in  the 
position  of  a  football  player  making  a  touchdown. 
There  is  always  a  tackle  resulting  in  the  release  of 
the  bit  of  forage.  If  the  bird  is  twenty-five  feet 
above  water  when  he  is  forced  to  let  go,  it  is  always 
caught  on  the  fly,  and  the  same  evolutions  gone 
through  with  again  until  the  disputed  capture  is 
torn  into  pieces,  and  thereby  fairly  well  distrib- 
uted. An  occasional  ''bone-breaker"  comes  on 
the  scene,  and  then  things  are  different.  This  so- 
called  bone-breaker  seems  to  be  a  cross  between 
the  gull  and  the  albatros.  It  has  nearly  the  same 
breadth  of  wing  and  the  same  stately  flight,  but 
is  always  dead  black  or  brown  in  color.  When  one 
of  these  fellows  sees  a  gull  getting  away  with 
something  edible  he  bears  down  on  the  poor  little 
rascal  like  the  black  pirate  he  is,  and  in  that  case 
there  is  no  effort  made  to  catch  it  on  the  fly.  The 
big  bird  makes  good  his  claim  by  superiority  of 
weight,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  see  a  ring  of  gulls 
around  one  of  these  fellows  assailing  him  with 
hungry  squawks  and  no  doubt  using  gull  language 
that  would  be  classed  as  impolite,  but  not  daring 
to  get  within  reach  of  either  beak  or  wing.  Their 
was  an  half-hour  entertainment  this  morning.  The 
cook  threw  a  piece  of  meat  overboard  that  must 
have  been  three  feet  long.  The  gulls  clustered 
over  it  as  the  tide  carried  it  past  the  ship.    There 


174   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

were  two  pirate  craft  cruising  in  the  offing,  and 
the  commotion  on  the  water  evidently  excited 
their  curiosity.  The  gulls  were  too  busy  to  note 
the  approaching  danger,  and  in  a  moment  there 
was  a  wild  panic,  leaving  the  black  burglars  in  pos- 
session of  the  meat.  They  circled  around  for  fully 
two  minutes  before  either  of  them  risked  taking 
hold.  Finally  one  made  a  grab  and  started  up,  but 
before  he  could  get  away,  the  other  fellow  caught 
the  other  end,  and  then  the  real  fun  began.  It  was 
a  regular  tug-of-war  for  a  minute  and  then  a 
scrap.  They  fought  and  tugged  until  the  meat 
was  torn  apart,  and  each  settled  down  to  enjoy  the 
feast  he  had  fought  so  valiantly  for. 

There  is  something  to  be  thankful  for,  even  on 
this  stupid  voyage,  there  being  no  cracked  grapho- 
phone  on  board,  nor  any  aspirant  for  Galli  Curci's 
job.  The  worst  we  have  to  contend  with  in  this 
line  is  the  constant  effort  of  our  "wireless"  to 
whistle  ''Just  one  Girl."  I  bore  it  patiently  for  ten 
days,  but  reached  the  limit  of  my  endurance  one 
hour  ago.  I  approached  the  misguided  youth  and 
in  a  solemn  tone  of  voice  told  him  that  an  early 
death  was  one  of  the  saddest  of  earthly  things, 
but  that  I  would  murder  him  in  cold  blood,  what- 
ever that  term  means,  if  I  heard  another  note 
from  him.  The  continued  delay  is  getting  on  my 
nerves,  and  I  can  understand  why  men  fight  to  a 
finish  when  snowbound  in  the  far  north,  as  de- 
scribed by  Jack  London  and  Rex  Beach.     The  two 


AROUND   SOUTH  ^^MERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE    175 

weeks  spent  on  thi&  ship  has  gotten  me  into  a 
beautifully  quarrelsome  mood,  for  it  is  the  least  in- 
teresting journey  I  have  ever  made.  The  only 
break  in  the  deadly  monotony  is  when  our  South 
American  contingent  starts  a  poker  game  in  the 
smoking  room.  My  dear  old  Uncle  kept  many 
ducks  w^hen  he  farmed,  and  they  were  very  noisy 
at  feeding  time.  Well,  I  get  into  a  far  corner,  close 
my  eyes  and  for  half  an  hour  am  a  boy  again  at 
duck  feeding  time.  The  illusion  is  perfect,  except 
the  ducks  stopped  quacking  when  they  got  full, 
but  when  one  of  these  ducks  gets  (a)  full  he  simply 
blows  up,  if  the  other  duck  has  four  of  a  kind.  I 
would  give  much  for  some  one,  male,  female  or 
neutral  to  walk  and  talk  with,  and  thereby  keep 
my  brain  from  ossifying.  Up  to  the  present  time 
any  thought  other  than  one  touching  on  a  rule  in 
bridge  or  whiskey  poker  dies  a  swift  death. 

After  five  days'  battle  with  the  surf  we  managed 
to  get  our  cargo  on  board  at  Rivadavia  and  head- 
ed up  the  coast  on  another  leg  of  our  journey.  We 
are  due  at  Buenos  Aires  today,  and  only  a  little 
over  half  way.  Fortunately  there  is  but  one  mOre 
intermediate  port,  so  we  will  make  good  time 
from  now  on,  for  which  everyone  is  duly  thank- 
ful, for  the  whole  outfit  is  rank ;  captain,  crew, 
passengers,  myself  included.  We  are  served  with  a 
menu  that  would  stir  rebellion  in  the  heart  of  a  Har- 
lem goat  if  he  were  held  down  to  it  for  seven  consecu- 
tive meals,  and  after  two  weeks  he  would  be  will- 


176    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

ing  to  eat  Hearst's  papers.  Me  nosed  into  Madryti 
at  4  o'clock  this  afternoon  and  spent  nearly  two 
hours  getting  alongside  the  dock.  Captain  Hud- 
gins  would  have  laid  her  alongside  in  twenty 
minutes.  But  it  is  comforting  to  see  a  pier  once 
more.  This  is  the  first  pier  since  leaving  Colon 
where  it  has  been  possible  to  go  on  shore  with- 
out danger  of  a  ducking  or  being  storm-bound 
and  marooned  until  the  next  steamer.  A  trip  on 
shore  this  morning  confirms  all  the  weird  stories 
told  about  Patagonian  winds,  and  all  future  yarns 
will  be  accepted  without  question.  A  Scotch  sheep 
farmer  discovered  a  gorge  on  his  place  down 
which  an  exceptionally  "cutting"  wind  always 
swept.  With  true  Scotch  thrift  he  conceived  the 
idea  of  driving  his  sheep  across  the  mouth  of  this 
gorge  at  shearing  time,  and  was  able  to  harvest 
his  wool  at  no  expense.  There  is  a  companion 
story  to  this,  dealing  with  a  certain  very  necessary 
surgical  operation  in  connection  with  sheep  farm- 
ing, but  that  story  has  to  be  told.  It  cannot  be 
written.  There  were  some  lingering  doubts  when 
these  stories  were  told,  but  my  visit  in  Madryn  re- 
moved them  completely.  We  walked,  or  rather 
battled  our  way,  through  the  town,  seeing  nothing 
but  a  few  scattered  houses  and  stores  with  a 
background  equal  in  desolation  to  the  pampas  of 
Bolivia.  Later  in  the  day  we  walked  a  mile  or  more 
along  the  beach,  and  it  had  real  charm.  Tide  rows 
of  sea  weed  mark  the  high  water  line,  and  it  is 


\ 
\ 
AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   177 

richly  colored.  Pink,  yellow,  blue,  brown  and 
every  shade  of  green.  All  were  blended  into  an 
harmonious  color  scheme,  most  pleasing  to  view. 
But  my  eyes  are  getting  jaundiced  and  I  fear  I 
will  be  finding  fault  with  even  the  ''beauty  of  holi- 
ness" if  this  cruise  lasts  much  longer.  Some  writer, 
trying  to  impress  his  readers  with  home  values, 
has  said,  "Try  doing  without  the  morning  head- 
lines, hot  and  cold  water  of  the  free  running 
variety,  elevation,  theatres.  Christian  food  and 
your  own  language.  Then  think  of  a  stack  of 
wheats  with  maple  syrup,  honest-to-goodness  but- 
ter, and  a  cup  of  coffee,  with  real  cream  that  does 
not  come  from  a  tin  cow ;  and  now  tell  me  if  the 
dame  with  the  torch  does  not  seem  rather  allur- 
ing." I  would  like  to  hear  what  that  chap  would 
say  along  this  line  if  he  made  a  cruise  around 
Patagonia.  That  famous  dame  would  not  only  ap- 
pear as  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  but  the  Goddess 
of  everything  good  and  beautiful.  Much  of  our 
unrest  is  due  to  the  endless  delays  we  have  been 
subjected  to  for  months.  There  were  people  in 
Santiago  who  had  waited  seven  weeks  for  a  chance 
to  get  across  the  mountains,  and  they  are  there 
yet,  for  the  pass  is  not  yet  open.  Many  of  these 
fellows  are  on  a  commission  basis,  and  their  hearts 
must  have  grown  sick  seeing  their  profits  going  to 
the  hotel  sharks.  Others  have  to  give  an  account 
of  their  time  and  expense,  and  it  is  tragic  to  see 
them  trying  to  make  their  reports  clear  and  con- 


178    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

vincing.  One  youngster  said  to  me,  "I  will  never 
make  the  old  man  believe  I  have  spent  six  weeks 
in  honestly  trying  to  get  over  the  mountains  from 
Santiago.  Unfortunately  he  knows  how  suscep- 
tible I  am  to  pretty  girls,  and  when  I  had  been  here 
a  few  days  I  wrote  home  saying  the  town  was 
alive  with  them.  I  can  just  naturally  see  myself 
spending  the  balance  of  my  commercial  life  in  the 
shipping  department." 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   179 

BUENOS  AIRES. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

This  morning  the  muddy  green  waters  of  the 
South  Atlantic  had  given  place  to  the  yellow  waters 
of  "La.  Platte"  but  no  land  was  in  sight,  for  the  river 
is  120  miles  wide  at  this  point.  There  was  no  bath 
this  morning,  for  it  recalled  one  made  ready  for 
me  on  my  first  visit  to  St.  Louis.  This  was  be- 
fore the  Chain  of  Rocks  was  in  action,  and  that 
was  another  bath  missed,  for  the  water  in  both 
cases  looked  as  if  it  had  been  shoveled  into  the 
tub  and  not  gotten  there  by  legitimate  means. 
Nevertheless  this  same  muddy  water  is  a  wel- 
come sight,  for  it  means  we  are  nearing  our  desti- 
nation, after  all  the  weary  days.  We  were  sup- 
posed to  sail  from  Valparaiso  July  fourth,  and  this 
is  August  twenty-fifth,  making  a  record  voyage 
for  me  of  fifty-two  days,  and  some  of  these  fifty- 
two  days  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  Barring  a 
pampero,  we  will  dock  this  afternoon,  and,  speak- 
ing of  pamperos  reminds  me  of  my  last  entrance 
into  the  mouth  of  this  river.  We  had  left  St. 
Catherines,  December  eighteenth,  thinking  to  give 
ourselves  ample  time  to  reach  Montivideo  in  time 
for  Christmas  dinner.  Word  had  been  sent  on  to 
Evans,  the  ship  chandler,  weeks  before  instructing 


180   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

him  to  have  turkeys  and  all  that  goes  with  them 
to  make  up  a  real  Christmas  dinner,  and  we  began 
to  have  visions  of  it  before  we  had  the  anchor  cat- 
ted. We  had  scarcely  cleared  the  channel  before 
the  wind  hauled  to  the  southwest  and  picked  up 
half  a  gale.  We  were  short  of  coal  and  were  com- 
pelled to  buck  this  nasty  head  wind  and  sea  under 
sail.  The  ship  (the  old  Hartford)  was  well  handl- 
ed, and  at  8  P.  M.  of  the  twenty-fourth,  when  1 
went  on  duty,  we  were  in  these  same  muddy  wa- 
ters congratulating  ourselves  on  the  reasonable  cer- 
tainty of  coming  to  anchor  by  8  A.  M.  the  next 
day.  The  wind  had  hauled  to  the  southeast  and 
we  were  bowling  along  in  fine  shape.  Midshipman 
Taylor  was  on  the  fo'castle,  and  we  were  talking 
of  other  Christmas  days,  expressing  the  hope  our 
next  Christmas  would  be  spent  at  home.  Just  then 
the  sails  began  to  quiver  and  belly  in.  Without 
waiting  for  Taylor  I  shouted,  **A11  aback  forward, 
sir,"  and  for  the  next  ten  minutes  it  looked  as  if 
we  had  had  our  last  Christmas  dinner,  unless  Davy 
Jones  had  some  arrangement  for  the  celebration, 
for  a  pampero  had  hit  us  fairly  in  the  teeth,  and 
the  old  ship  behaved  very  much  like  a  drunken  man 
trying  to  navigate  on  ice,  but  discipline  was  good, 
and  my  friend  Woods  was  in  charge  of  the  quarter- 
deck. Proper  orders  were  given  and  promptly  exe- 
cuted, and  in  about  ten  minutes  we  were  scudding 
before  a  living  gale,  all  snug  and  secure,  but  alas, 
our  Christmas  dinner  was  a  thing  to  be  dreamed 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    181 

of  only  during  long  watches  of  the  night,  and  we 
made  wry  faces  over  the  standard  ship's  grub  the 
next  day.  My,  how  rank  it  was ;  not  that  it  was 
really  bad,  but  the  contrast  of  our  actual  pork  and 
beans  to  our  fondly  pictured  turkey  and  plum  pud- 
ding could  not  be  otherwise  than  sad.  It  was  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-seventh  before  the  gale  blew 
itself  out,  but  by  crowding  on  all  sail,  and  with  a 
fair  breeze  we  made  port  New  Year's  morning. 
We  had  the  big  dinner  all  right,  but  somehow  it 
fell  flat. 

Much  of  this  yellow  water  has  gone  down  to  the 
sea  since  that  belated  Christmas  dinner,  for  it  was 
nearly  forty  years  ago.  Many  ships  passed  us  dur- 
ing the  day,  and  about  one  o'clock  a  trim  Yankee 
five-masted  schooner  hove  in  sight,  with  our  beauti- 
ful flag  at  the  peak.  It  was  a  pleasing  picture  to 
thosQ  of  us  who  had  seen  nothing  but  tramp  steam- 
ers for  months,  and  not  many  of  them.  We  were 
soon  between  the  line  of  buoys  and  slowly  making 
our  way  to  the  narrow  dock  entrance.  Before  us 
was  a  scene  very  like  the  East  river  fifty  years 
ago.  There  was  a  forest  of  masts  and  yards  in- 
dicating everything  from  a  four-mast  full  rigged 
ship  to  a  single-stick  lugger.  The  stars  and  stripes 
were  flying  from  many  of  their  mastheads,  and  let 
us  hope  our  mis-representatives  will  not  "legislate" 
it  out  of  existence  as  they  did  before.  As  we  warp- 
ed into  the  dock  I  had  a  vivid  recollection  of  my 
last  landing  here.    We  at  that  time  anchored  about 


182   AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

three  miles  from  shore,  and  flat  bottom  boats  came 
out  for  us.  These  were  pushed  in  until  they  ran 
aground,  which  was  fully  fifty  feet  from  the  actual 
shore.  Bull  carts  were  backed  out  alongside  our 
barges  and  we  made  our  final  passage,  looking  much 
like  French  revolution  victims  going  to  our  fate  in 
tumbrels.  I  have  a  very  distinct  recollection  of  the 
place  where  I  landed,  and  when  I  described  it  to 
Mr.  Kenney  a  few  days  later  he  was  able  to  take 
me  to  the  exact  spot.  The  mud  bank  where  boats 
grounded  and  bull  carts  backed  out  to  take  off  pas- 
sengers and  cargo  is  today  a  beautiful  sunken  gar- 
den marking  the  terminal  of  the  subway  under 
Avenida  de  Mayo.  The  river  is  now  nearly  half  a 
mile  to  the  east,  and  faced  with  docks  where  ships 
of  the  world  can  load  and  unload  speedily.  Mil- 
lions of  tons  of  freight  are  handled  here  yearly, 
and  it  would  be  some  considerable  job  for  bull  carts. 
Buenos  Aires  is  better  equipped  to  handle  over-seas 
traffic  than  any  sea  port  in  America.  This  state- 
ment applies  not  only  to  docks  and  methods  of 
handling  freight,  but  to  the  splendid  system  of  cus- 
toms warehouses  all  along  the  water  front.  The 
dock  improvement  is  in  keeping  with  the  general 
progress  made  by  the  city  and  in  the  political  situa- 
tion. If  my  memory  serves  me  right  there  were 
four  revolutions  in  1879,  one  president  shot,  and 
much  blood  shed  throughout  the  year.  Today  there 
is  a  stable  government,  and  this  fact  was  never 
more  manifest  than  at  the  present  time,  for  no  one 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE    183 

has  a  good  word  for  the  President.  In  1879  a  man 
as  unpopular  as  Senior  Irigoyen  would  have  to  con- 
duct affairs  of  State  in  a  bomb-proof  cellar.  The 
one  bright  page  in  the  annals  of  his  administration 
is  tHe  active  and  efficient  manner  in  which  the  Bol- 
shevik movement  has  been  handled.  It  was  a  "little 
Petrograd"  around  here  in  January  of  this  year. 
The  "Reds"  made  their  open  boasts,  saying  they  in- 
tended to  "take  Over  the  government"  with  the 
promise  of  "no  work"  and  plenty  of  money  to 
their  followers.  Senior  Irigoyen  very  promptly  got 
out  the  machine  guns  and  used  them  effectively, 
cleaning  up  some  eight  hundred  of  the  sinners. 
This  was  followed  by  an  active  search  for  and 
capture  of  the  ringleaders.  These  embryo  Len- 
ines  and  Trotskys  were  promptly  stockaded  and  a 
short  time  afterward  a  shipload  of  Patriots  (?) 
were  on  their -way  back  to  Russia,  Spain  and  Italy. 
There  are  between  two  and  three  thousand  lesser 
lights  gathered  together  in  the  same  compact  fold 
ready  for  a  free  ocean  trip,  but  they  have  expressed 
a  change  of  heart,  and  are  pleading  for  mercy,  with 
many  promises  of  good  behavior  and  obedience  to 
the  law.  However,  they  are  keeping  them  penned 
long  enough  to  allow  their  good  resolutions  to  take 
root.  And  right  here  we  may  get  a  suggestion  for 
the  proper  dealing  with  our  I.  W.  W.'s  and  other 
"I  wont  workers."  My  physical  condition  has  kept 
me  from  investigating  many  things  of  interest,  but 
one   cannot   traverse   these   streets   without  being 


184    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    AVITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

deeply  impressed  by  the  greatness  of  the  city.  It 
is  really  big  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  In  many 
respects  Florida  street  will  compare  favorably  with 
Fifth  avenue.  The  street  unfortunately  is  very 
narrow,  but  the  shop  appointments  and  stocks  are 
high  grade.  The  department  store  of  Harrods  car- 
ries a  line  of  goods  equal  to  Wanamaker  and  their 
window  display  is  always  artistic.  Jewelry  stores 
are  numerous,  and  specially  notable,  as  their  win- 
dow shows  are  dazzling.  A  gala  night  at  the  Grand 
Opera  would  necessitate  blinkers,  for  the  Argentine 
ladies  must  rival  the  consorts  of  our  steel  kings  in 
their  jewelled  splendor.  There  are  several  business 
streets  lined  with  attractive  stores,  and  the  shop- 
ping district  is  thoroughly  metropolitan.  But  the 
most  interesting  and  numerous  commercial  feature, 
at  least  to  the  stranger,  is  the  countless  vendors  of 
lottery  tickets.  There  are  hundreds,  and  perhaps 
thousands,  of  places  where  tickets  are  on  sale,  but 
the  vendors  do  not  pester  one,  as  they  do  in  Havana 
and  Panama.  The  next  most  important  business 
seems  to  be  the  "Cambio"  shops,  but  there  is  an 
unholy  reason  for  the  money  changers,  for  money 
is  brought  in  from  nearby  states  of  Chili,  Paraguay, 
Uraguay  and  Brazil,  with  more  or  less  coming  from 
the  United  States,  and  England,  so  it  is  the  money 
changers  paradise.  There  is  a  private  bank  on  San 
Martin  street  conducted  by  Pasqual  Brothers,  and 
it  is  well  worth  seeing.  Usually  there  is  around 
$50,000  in  gold  coin  and  bullion  stacked  up  in  the 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAI^IPLE   CASE   185 

"thin"  glass  window,  and  inside,  back  of  the  coun- 
ter, is  a  shelf  running  the  full  length  of  the  room. 
This  shelf  is  piled  with  currency  from  the  several 
nearby  States,  in  about  the  same  reckless  profusion 
one  would  expect  to  see  if  the  "dinero"  were  car- 
rots and  green  peas.  I  never  passed  the  place 
without  speculating  on  what  would  happen  some 
quiet  afternoon  if  this  place  was  located  on  State 
street  or  Dearborn  street  in  Chicago.  The  streets 
are  narrow,  which  would  interfere  somewhat  with 
the  get-away,  but  some  of  the  former  residents  of 
San  Quentin  would  negotiate  the  deal  in  some  way. 
If  that  window  was  in  New  York  or  Chicago,  it 
would  have  to  be  protected  by  two-inch  manganese 
steel  bars,  and  even  then  the  contents  would  not 
be  safe.  The  streets  in  the  old  section  of  the  city 
are  extremely  narrow,  making  one-way  traffic 
necessary,  and  even  then  the  traffic  is  fearfully 
congested.  But  the  city  has  already  begun  a 
scheme  to  correct  this  evil.  Every  fourth  street  is 
to  be  made  into  a  boulevard  as  cash  in  the  city 
treasury  becomes  available,  and  strange  to  say, 
owners  of  property  along  these  selected  streets 
are  showing  a  patriotic  spirit,  wherein  they  again 
differ  from  our  beloved  fellow-citizens,  for  I  feel 
sorry  for  the  tax-payers  of  Pittsburgh  if  they  de- 
cided to  widen  Fifth  avenue  or  Smithfield  street. 
They  already  have  a  number  of  these  splendid 
avenues,  such  as  de  Mayo,  Callao,  Entre  Rios  and 
the   wide   streets   through    Palermo,   all   of   which 


186   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   8AMPLE   CASE 

are  well  paved,  well  lighted,  and  most  pleasing  to 
the  eye.  The  street  car  service  is  very  good  con- 
sidering the  handicap  of  crowded  streets,  and  the 
cars  are  scrupulously  clean.  Although  coal  costs 
about  $30.00  per  ton  and  everything  entering  in- 
to the  maintenance  of  the  road  is  abnormally  ex- 
pensive here,  yet  they  are  able  to  pay  the  city 
twelve  and  one-half  per  cent  on  their  earnings,  de- 
clare a  satisfactory  dividend  to  their  stockholders, 
and  at  the  same  time  carry  passengers  ten  miles 
for  a  fraction  over  four  cents.  This  fare  holds 
good  in  the  subway  also,  and  it  is  the  very  best 
transportation,  either  under  or  over  ground,  I  have 
ever  seen,  and  this  statement  is  unqualified. 

'*Aida"  was  booked  at  the  Colon,  Saturday  after- 
noon, and  by  imagining  myself  a  millionaire  for 
the  time  being,  I  attended.  Fortunately,  consider- 
ing my  expense  account,  all  the  choice  seats  were 
sold,  so  I  paid  only  $10.00  for  an  uncomfortable, 
neck-twisting  nook  in  the  sixth  floor  circle.  By 
using  my  overcoat  for  a  "lift"  in  the  way  of  a 
cushion  and  putting  a  half  turn  in  my  neck,  I  was 
able  to  get  a  fairly  good  view  of  the  stage,  but  it 
was  like  looking  down  into  the  Grand  Canon  from 
the  El  Tovar  balcony.  The  stage  setting  for  Aida 
was  the  most  elaborate  I  ever  beheld ;  the  scene 
showing  the  return  of  Radames  being  simply  gor- 
geous. Wonderful  snow-white  horses  attached  to 
the  chariot,  and  coal  black  ones  under  stately  war- 
riors,  whilst  the   priest's   robes   were   rich  beyond 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE    187 

description.  I  found  the  same  weakness,  however, 
that  is  noticeable  with  us,  and  that  is  the  ragged, 
irregular  movement  of  the  ballet.  The  chorus  girl 
in  both  North  and  South  America  absolutely  re- 
fuses to  work,  evidently  thinking  a  well  turned 
ankle  and  a  perfect  thirty-six  fills  the  bill.  Senor 
Grassi  as  Radames  was  a  bit  stagy,  but  Roggio 
in  the  role  of  Amonasro  carried  the  difficult  role 
with  dramatic  skill.  When  Claudia  Nunzio  ap- 
peared in  the  title  role  the  building  almost  rocked 
with  the  wild  applause,  and  it  w^as  fully  merited. 
I  have  heard  many  great  artists  in  this  role,  but 
not  one  ever  sang  it  as  she  did. 

Some  weeks  later  I  had  the  privilege  of  inspect- 
ing the  opera  house  through  the  courtesy  of  Mr. 
Kenney;  he  being  one  of  the  managing  directors  I 
was  shown  every  detail  of  the  building,  and  it 
being  closed  for  the  season  we  were  permitted  to 
see  it  from  roof  to  cellar.  They  had  not  yet  begun 
to  renovate  it  when  we  went  through,  and  yet  it 
had  the  appearance  of  having  just  been  overhaul- 
ed. The  people  take  great  pride  in  keeping  it  in 
perfect  condition,  and  although  it  is  twelve  years 
old  it  has  never  been  redecorated.  There  are  six 
galleries,  the  lower  three  being  divided  into  158 
stalls.  On  the  left-hand  side,  facing  the  stage,  the 
second  and  third  circles  terminate  in  a  palatial 
box  reserved  for  the  president  of  the  republic  and 
his  friends.  A  similiar  box  opposite  is  assigned  to 
the  mayor  and  his  family.    A  novel  feature  is  noted 


188    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

in  five  screened  boxes  on  each  side  of  the  lower 
circle,  where  people,  suffering  from  some  recent 
bereavement,  and  not  wishing  to  be  seen  in  public, 
can  attend  and  be  absolutely  secluded.  The  build- 
ing seats  3,200  persons,  and  every  seat  was  oc- 
cupied the  afternoon  I  attended.  Another  novel 
feature  is  the  arrangement  w^hereby  the  entire  floor 
can  be  raised  to  the  level  of  the  stage  in  twelve 
minutes.  In  one  hour  the  chairs  can  be  removed, 
thereby  producing  the  finest  banquet  hall  in  the 
world.  This  reconstruction  is  seldom  made,  but 
it  was  done  when  Roosevelt  visited  the  city  several 
years  ago.  The  stage  itself  covers  as  much  space 
as  an  ordinary  theatre,  and  is  250  feet  from  top  to 
bottom.  A  frame  work  at  the  top  carries  cords 
from  which  can  be  suspended  160  screens.  There 
are  complete  sets  of  dressing  rooms  on  the  three 
floors  surrounding  the  stage.  Men  on  one  side  and 
women  on  the  other,  and  this  rule  holds  good  even 
if  man  and  wife  are  in  the  same  cast.  The  genial 
old  superintendent  allowed  us  to  go  through  the 
property  rooms  where  outfits  are  kept  to  stage 
sixty  operas.  This  includes  over  7,000  pairs  of 
shoes,  and  these  outfits  are  complete  in  minute 
detail. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    189 

OLD  MEMORIES. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

My  good  friends,  Kenny,  Pierce,  Russell,  Lee 
and  Old  Mexico  came  to  the  station  to  bid  me 
good-bye,  and  so  kindly  was  their  "God-speed"  I 
felt  a  real  desire  to  visit  them  again,  although  my 
stay  in  Buenos  Aires  was  marked  by  the  greatest 
physical  suffering  I  have  ever  had  to  endure.  What 
appeared  to  be  only  an  insignificant  pimple  on  the 
back  of  my  neck  proved  to  be  a  vicious  case  of  an- 
thrax, and  for  a  while  it  was  a  neck-and-neck  race 
between  the  ''Pale  Horseman"  and  myself.  lie 
would  have  won  had  it  not  been  for  the  marvelous 
care  given  me  by  Mrs.  Hampton,  who  refused  to 
allow  me  to  be  taken  to  the  hospital.  She  had  me 
taken  to  her  home  instead,  where  she  nursed  me 
day  and  night  for  fifteen  days,  never  leaving  the 
house  during  that  time,  and  scarcely  leaving  me. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  cases  of  Christian 
service  I  have  ever  known.  It  was  purely  unsel- 
fish, for  my  only  claim  upon  her  was  a  formal  let- 
ter of  introduction  to  her  husband  from  Dunbar 
of  the  Ford  plant  in  Pittsburgh,  and  it  was  heroic, 
for  although  I  was  as  dangerous  to  touch  as  a 
leper,  she  cared  for  me  and  helped  to  dress  the 
wound  when  the  sight  of  it  must  have  been  enough 


190   AROUND   SOUTH    A3IERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

to  make  a  strong  man  faint.  Dr.  Roffo  told  me  af- 
ter my  recovery  that  he  had  a  case  not  nearly  so 
severe  as  mine,  and  he  had  the  greatest  difficulty 
getting  a  nurse.  My  debt  to  these  dear  people  can 
never  be  repaid.  My  throat  is  still  bandaged,  and 
I  look  ready  to  take  part  in  an  "Apache  waltz," 
but  I  am  very  much  alive,  and  duly  thankful,  for 
statistics  show  that  only  five  per  cent  recover 
from  the  beastly  disease.  Down  here  they  call  it 
the  "grande  mal"  and  I  can  vouch  for  it  being 
properly  named,  for  it  is  the  "big  sickness"  all  right. 
There  have  been  ten  weeks  of  terrible  suffering, 
but  tender  friendships  shown  me  during  that 
period  fully  compensated.  There  was  another  in- 
cident brought  about  by  my  illness,  and  the  story 
is  well  worth  telling.  I  was  invited  to  tell  the 
American  Club  something  about  Buenos  Aires 
forty  years  ago.  When  the  talk  ended  a  gentle- 
man came  across  the  room  and  said,  "So  this  is 
J.  Frank  Lanning,  Well,  I  have  been  searching 
the  town  over  for  you,  and  have  just  cabled  New 
York  saying  you  could  not  be  found.  I  have  some- 
thing of  interest  to  you."  He  then  took  a  cable- 
gram from  his  pocket  and  handed  it  to  me.  It 
read ;  "Lampman,  Buenos  Aires.  We  understand 
our  friend  J.  Frank  Lanning  is  seriously  ill  in  an 
emergency  hospital  in  Buenos.  Look  him  up  and 
render  any  service  possible."  Signed  Worthing- 
ton  Pump  Company,  Jones.  W'hat  a  wonderful  old 
world  it  is,  and  how  big  its  heart  is  if  we  can  only 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   191 

touch  it?  There  have  been  countless  good  Samari- 
tans since  the  story  of  the  first  one  was  told  by 
the  Master. 

There  is  special  steamer  train  on  sailing  days 
that  makes  no  stops,  so  we  reached  the  docks  in 
good  shape.  The  ''Highland  Laddie:  was  tied  up 
alongside  the  storage  house  of  the  Swift  plant 
and  busy  loading  frozen  quarters  of  beef  and  car- 
casses of  mutton.  Our  train  backed  down  along- 
side, and  we  were  glad  to  find  ourselves  on  board 
an  English  ship  once  more.  Lines  were  cast  off  at 
5  P.  M.,  and  we  steamed  slowly  out  of  the  canal 
to  the  river,  heading  for  Montevideo  and  anchored 
inside  the  breakw^ater  at  7  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing. This  place  calls  to  mind  some  sensational 
events  worth  noting.  Forty  years  ago  there  was 
no  breakwater  here,  and  ships  anchored  in  the 
open  roadway,  exposed  to  the  pampero,  which 
livens  things  up  from  time  to  time  in  these  waters. 
I  was  sent  on  shore  with  the  paymaster  one  after- 
noon for  coin  of  the  realm  to  meet  the  payroll. 
We  were  delayed  nearly  two  hours,  and  it  was 
blowing  a  fitful  gale  when  we  left  the  mole.  Re- 
turning we  got  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the 
ship  when  the  storm  proper  hit  us.  The  oars  were 
twisted  out  of  our  men's  hand  as  if  they  had  been 
taken  hold  of  by  giants,  and  the  boat  was  driven 
helplessly  onto  the  beach.  While  yet  some  fifty 
yards  from  shore  we  capsized,  dumping  men  and 
money  overboard.     Fortunately  the  money  was  in 


192   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

coin  and  in  a  net  with  buoy  attached,  and  the  men 
all  good  swimmers,  so  we  reached  shore  safely. 
It  was  three  days  before  the  gale  let  up  so  we 
could  salvage  our  "dinero"  and  get  back  to  the 
ship.  During  our  three  days  on  shore,  not  hav- 
ing anything  better  (or  worse)  to  do,  I  had  gotten 
mixed  up  in  a  ''Blanco  Negro"  game,  which  result- 
ed in  my  share  of  the  recovered  coin  being  prompt- 
ly handed  over  to  the  paymaster,  who  was  too 
wise  to  join  the  game  himself,  but  was  willing  to 
stake  me,  taking  my  I.  O.  U.'s  for  the  amount. 
This  same  port  one  year  later  was  the  scene  of  a 
tragedy  on  our  ship.  The  "Hartford"  had  left 
Hampton  Rhoads  two  years  before  with  one  of  the 
most  vicious  crews  that  had  been  gotten  together 
since  the  civil  war.  This  fact  was  emphasized  by 
a  conversation  had  with  Admiral  Nicholson  last 
June  in  Valparaiso.  He  was  attached  to  the  "Hart- 
ford" when  I  reported  for  duty,  but  was  transferred 
before  she  sailed  for  South  America,  and  in  dis- 
cussing the  transfer  he  announced  the  fact  that  he 
was  "damn  glad  he  did  not  have  to  sail  with  that 
bunch  of  pirates."  It  was  a  tough  set,  no  doubt 
that,  but  they  were  made  far  more  vicious  by  hav- 
ing over  them  an  executive  officer  whom  the  naval 
authorities  should  have  sent  back  to  St.  Croix, 
where  he  originally  came  from,  and  hooked  him 
up  with  one  of  his  native  bull  carts,  making  his 
mission  in  life  hauling  sugar  cane,  instead  of  being 
placed  in  charge   of  a   turbulent   force.     He   tried 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE    193 

to  adopt  the  same  methods  with  his  crew  he  had 
used  in  dealing  with  his  father's  bulls  and  peons, 
hence  the  sequel.  Trouble  was  brewing  before  we 
left  Norfolk,  and  it  was  no  wonder  Nicholson  ex- 
pressed satisfaction  at  being  shifted  to  another 
berth.  There  was  no  lack  of  discipline,  but  there 
was  a  painful  lack  of  mutual  understanding  be- 
tween some  of  the  officers  and  the  crew.  Our  cap- 
tain was  one  of  the  best  of  men,  and  we  had  two 
or  three  capable  officers  like  Lieutenant  Wood, 
but  against  them  stood  our  executive  officer  and 
a  watch  officer,  whose  personal  welfare  was  not 
held  in  tender  regard  by  the  other  officers  or  crew. 
This  chap  had  won  a  commission  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  by  some  political  pull  had  been  carried 
on  with  rank  of  lieutenant.  He  was  a  watch  of- 
ficer, and  his  turn  in  charge  of  the  deck  was  sure 
to  occasion  muttered  curses  from  the  crew,  for 
even  in  running  down  the  trade  winds  when  wea- 
ther conditions  were  absolutely  changeless,  he 
would  come  on  duty  at  midnight,  and  take  charge 
of  a  lot  of  sleepy-heads  that  had  been  routed  out 
from  comfortable  hammocks  to  find  almost  as 
comfortable  resting  places  on  the  ship's  deck,  for 
they  could  sleep  anywhere,  the  weather  being 
warm.  Sometimes  he  would  allow  two  bells  to 
strike  before  the  spirit  of  evil  would  manifest  it- 
self, but  then  it  would  be  "tell  the  boatswain's 
mate  to  get  the  watch  aft  and  take  in  slack  of  wea- 
ther main  brace."     Sometimes  they  would  get  as 


194   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

much  as  one  and  one-quarter  inch,  but  it  would 
serve  his  purpose  of  waking  up  two  hundred  peace- 
ful sleepers  with  its  attendant  grumble  and  touch 
of  hate.  Soon  as  we  reached  our  station  the  re- 
finement of  petty  cruelty  on  the  part  of  our  execu- 
tive officer  began  to  be  felt.  Unduly  severe  pun- 
ishment was  inflicted  for  minor  offenses,  and  this 
was  followed  by  restrictions  and  interferences 
with  time-honored  naval  customs,  which  culmi- 
nated in  an  order  to  the  sailmaker  to  construct  a 
lot  of  small  canvas  bags  about  the  size  of  a  stock- 
ing. When  these  were  completed  general  quar- 
ters for  inspection  was  called,  with  men  at  their 
stations  with  all  their  earthly  possessions  before 
them.  A  posse  accompanied  the  executive  with  in- 
structions to  gather  up  all  the  "ditty  boxes"  and 
hand  out  one  of  the  little  pokes.  Some  of  these 
boxes  were  works  of  art,  made  of  costly  woods, 
beautifully  inlaid,  and  were  treasured  by  their 
owners,  besides  being  a  great  convenience  for 
holding  their  toilet  articles,  sewing  outfits,  and 
making  a  comfortable  seat  when  reading  or  mak- 
ing their  clothing  repairs.  It  was  pitiful  to  watch 
the  expression  on  men's  faces  when  they  saw  these 
treasures  being  emptied  out  and  hearing  the  or- 
der for  demolishment.  Things  began  to  happen 
immediately  after  this  event,  and  some  weeks  la- 
ter a  liberty  party  went  on  shore  at  Montevideo 
with  more  than  the  usual  number  of  drunks  when 
they  returned.     That  night  about  ten  o'clock  the 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    195 

quartermaster's  attention  was  called  to  things 
dropping  over  the  ship's  side  into  the  water,  and 
after  reporting  it  to  the  officer  of  the  deck,  he  was 
sent  down  to  the  gun  deck  to  see  what  was  going 
on.  There  he  found  a  number  of  men  busily  en- 
gaged stripping  the  guns  of  all  loose  material  and 
dropping  it  out  the  portholes.  Hurrying  back  to 
the  upper  deck  he  reported  to  the  officer  and  gen- 
eral quarters  was  immediately  sounded.  Every- 
thing w^as  in  confusion,  and  it  was  quite  sometime 
before  the  crew  was  gotten  to  their  assigned 
places.  It  was  then  discovered  that  all  the  nine 
inch  guns  on  the  gun  deck  had  been  practically  dis- 
mantled. What  the  men's  object  was  in  doing 
this  no  one  could  tell,  except  it  was  the  only  way 
they  saw  to  register  their  dissatisfaction.  It  termi- 
nated in  the  arrest  and  trial  of  some  twenty  odd 
of  the  ringleaders,  and  a  sentence  in  Auburn  prison 
of  from  two  to  twenty  years  for  them.  Before 
means  were  found  to  send  them  north,  four  of 
them  jumped  over  board  in  a  foolish  effort  to  get 
on  shore,  and  two  of  them  were  drowned ;  their 
bodies  being  found  two  days  later,  and  so  ended 
the  only  mutiny  I  ever  had  to  do  with.  The  in- 
cident came  back  to  me  vividly  as  I  looked  out 
over  the  familiar  scene.  Montevideo,  like  all 
South  American  cities,  shows  much  development, 
as  it  is  beautified  by  public  plazas  and  artistic  build- 
ings, with  every  evidence  of  progress  and  pros- 
perity, and  the  personal  relation  with  the  United 


196    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

States  is  closer  and  kindlier  than  any  one  of  the 
countries  I  have  visited;  although  nothing  but  the 
greatest  courtesy  has  been  shown  me  throughout 
my  journey.  It  would  have  pleased  me  to  spend 
sometime  here,  but  many  days  had  been  lost  and 
matters  of  importance  waited  my  attention  in 
Brazil,  so,  after  a  two-days'  stay,  we  headed  for 
Rio.  As  the  darkness  came  on  the  lights  of  the 
city  flashed  out  over  the  waters,  reminding  me  of 
Atlantic  City  in  the  midsummer  season,  and  for 
a  moment  I  wished  it  had  been,  for  that  dame 
holding  aloft  the  torch  of  Liberty  would  look 
mighty  good  to  me  just  now. 

Four  days  later  the  headlands  at  the  entrance 
of  Rio  harbor  came  in  view,  but  a  haze  hung  over 
it  all,  which  spoilt  the  wonderful  picture.  As  we 
neared  the  Sugar  Loaf  we  saw  the  cage  passing 
along  the  aerial  line  to  its  top,  and  decided  that 
was  a  trip  we  wovtld  surely  take.  It  was  dark 
before  the  port  formalities  were  gotten  through 
with,  and  I  was  in  the  chief  steward's  cabin  when 
the  barge  left  for  shore.  It  looked  as  if  there 
w^ould  be  some  trouble  getting  off  the  ship,  but  the 
vegetable  launch  came  alongside  and  I  negotiated 
passage  on  her.  Before  she  was  ready  to  leave  a 
rain  and  wind  storm  came  up.  and  w^e  all  got  a 
thorough  ducking  on  the  way.  Some  of  my  good 
friends  who  came  on  shore  on  the  barge  expected 
to  hear  from  me  next  in  London.  The  water-front 
was  lit  up,  and  had  undergone  an  entire  change 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    197 

leaving  not  one  familiar  feature.  What  had  been 
the  natural  shore  in  the  old  days  had  been  built 
up  with  modern  docks,  and  the  lightless  landing 
of  those  days  has  been  turned  into  an  attractive 
plaza.  A  taxi  soon  carried  me  into  an  avenue, 
that  for  brilliance  and  beauty  would  compare  with 
anything  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  It  was  won- 
derful to  note,  for  this  same  stretch  of  street  was 
but  little  better  than  a  country  lane  when  I  passed 
along  it  the  last  time,  and  doubtless  the  same  mar- 
velous improvement  will  be  found  throughout  the 
city. 


198    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

SAO  PAULO  AND  SANTOS. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

I  decided  to  visit  Sao  Paulo  and  Santos  at  once, 
so  booked  passage  on  the  "de  Lux"  leaving  Rio  at 
9:30  P.  M.,  and  found  a  well-equipped  train  of  cor- 
ridor Pullmans  with  two-berth  compartments.  My 
companion  was  evidently  a  bit  nervous  and  wanted 
to  prepare  for  an  emergency,  for  he  was  in  bed 
with  all  his  clothes  on,  and  his  shoes  close  at  hand. 
I  got  into  the  thinnest  of  pajamas,  and  found  the 
place  hotter  than  the  oft  referred  to  hinges  of  the 
nether  world.  I  am  partial  to  summer,  but  was 
nearly  parboiled  for  two  hours.  By  that  time  we 
began  to  climb,  and  the  compartment  cooled  off  a 
bit.  Later  a  blanket  was  required.  If  the  chap 
had  been  comfortable  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
ride,  he  must  have  felt  the  need  of  a  fur  rug  before 
we  reached  Sao  Paulo.  There  was  no  taxi  at  the 
station,  so  a  deal  was  made  with  an  antiquity  con- 
sisting of  a  vehicle,  a  pair  of  horses  and  a  gray- 
headed  negro ;  all  of  whom  were  probably  born  the 
same  year.  Of  course  antiques  come  high,  which 
is  why  the  rate  was  5,000  reis,  but  the  old  negro 
looked  as  if  he  might  have  come  from  "down  home," 
and  that  was  some  compensation.  Sao  Paulo  is  a 
real  business  center.    Factory  chimneys  on  all  sides. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   199 

and  great  terminal  warehouses,  where  coffee,  the 
leading  staple,  is  stored  ready  for  shipment  to  San- 
tos. This  is  the  coffee  center  of  Brazil,  and  if  we 
could  get  the  brew  served  in  the  States  as  it  is  ser- 
ved here,  we  would  not  miss  the  highballs,  for  it 
is  simply  delicious.  Sao  Paulo  is  a  city  of  500,000 
inhabitants,  and  300,000  of  her  citizens  are  Italians 
and  their  artistic  taste  is  shown  in  the  beautiful 
homes  and  grounds.  There  is  nothing  in  wSouthern 
California  or  Porto  Rico  to  compare  with  the  prir 
vate  gardens  here.  At  the  Paulista  Institute  on 
Avenida  Paulista  there  is  a  tree  fully  forty  feet 
high,  and  it  is  literally  covered  with  bouganviila 
vine  that  makes  it  a  veritable  mountain  of  purple 
glory.  Nor  can  lilies  be  found  in  such  profusion 
except  in  South  Africa.  In  fact  the  entire  city  is 
a  flower  garden.  There  is  quite  an  American 
colony  here,  and  an  American  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, which  is  doing  good  work  in  the  way  of  es- 
tablishing cordial  relations  in  the  commercial  field. 
A  branch  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  active  here,  and 
doing  fine  work. 

Saturday,  November  fifteenth,  is  the  Brazillian 
Fourth  of  July,  and  I  accepted  an  ivitation  from 
their  secretary  to  accompany  the  association  on 
their  picnic  to  Santos.  A  special  train  left  at  7:15 
A.  M.,  and  we  had  the  privilege  of  riding  over  the 
famous  cable  road  down  the  mountain.  The  train 
is  dropped  down  a  sharp  incline  by  wire  ropes  for 
nearly  two  thousand  feet,  and  it  would  have  been 


200   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

a  wonderful  trip  had  not  a  dense  fog  settled  down 
over  the  mountains  just  as  we  left  the  summit.  Only 
veiled  glimpses  were  caught  of  the  picturesque  sur- 
roundings, but  they  made  our  hearts  ache  because 
a  full  view  was  denied  us. 

Santos  is  greatly  improved,  and  it  is  now  a  rea- 
sonably healthy  city,  but  forty  years  ago  it  was  a 
veritable  pesthouse.  If  I  remember  correctly  there 
were  sixteen  ships  lying  at  anchor  in  the  harbor. 
Yellow  fever  was  epidemic,  and  those  who  had  not 
died  had  deserted,  leaving  not  even  a  caretaker  on 
one  of  those  ships.  It  was  a  desolate  scene,  and  we 
were  glad  to  get  away.  In  those  days  barges  were 
loaded  on  the  river  front  and  towed  out  to  the  ships 
at  anchor,  but  the  river  boat  for  the  beach  carried 
us  past  fine  docks  with  great  ocean  steamers  tied 
up  alongside.  All  the  ships  were  decorated  with 
flags  of  every  color,  and  made  a  gay  scene.  Our 
boat  carried  us  to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and 
there  we  boarded  a  little  open-car  dinky  train  that 
carried  us  across  a  mangrove  swamp  and  through 
an  immense  banana  grove  to  the  beach.  It  is  quite 
a  resort  and  has  one  of  the  finest  bathing  beaches 
in  the  world.  Blue  water  comes  tumbling  in  over 
snow-white  sand,  and  makes  a  perfect  summer 
resort  picture.  A  very  large  hotel  faces  the  beach, 
and  is  well  patronized  throughout  the  year.  One 
of  the  attractions  is  a  Monte  Carlo  section.  A 
large  room  is  fitted  up  with  all  the  known  means 
of  tempting  fickle  fortune,  and  the  roulette  wheel 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    201 

gets  a  hot  box  every  night,  because  it  is  kept  go- 
ing at  such  a  pace.  Being  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  bunch 
we  naturally  avoided  getting  mixed  up  in  any  of 
the  games,  but  we  all  went  in  to  look  it  over,  and 
were  entertained  by  a  story  of  a  big  killing  the 
night  before,  being  told  that  Senor  Somebody  had 
carried  off  six  million  reis  as  his  winnings  after 
three  hours  play ;  but  had  it  been  six  million  dol- 
lars it  would  not  have  tempted  me,  for  I  passed  up 
these  propositions  years  ago.  The  day  passed 
very  happily,  and  we  returned  to  Santos  at  six 
o'clock.  I  had  joined  a  delightful  group,  and  think- 
ing we  had  ample  time  we  made  our  way  to  the 
station  through  the  town  instead  of  by  the  water 
front,  thereby  losing  perhaps  five  minutes.  That 
five  minutes,  however,  was  just  enough  to  make 
us  miss  the  train  by  a  scant  sixty  seconds,  and 
it  was  pitiful  to  see  the  expression  of  despair  that 
spread  over  us  when  we  were  told  that  there  was 
no  other  train  until  six  in  the  morning.  Mrs.  E.  had 
a  comb,  a  towel  (that  had  been  used  at  the  beach) 
and  a  powder  puff.  These  were  all  the  toilet  ar- 
ticles in  possession  of  the  crowd  of  six,  and  we 
naturally  felt  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  stay  all 
night,  so  we  held  a  council  of  war,  and  decided  on 
an  automobile  trip.  A  scouting  party  was  sent 
out  with  instructions  to  get  a  car  that  could  and. 
would  make  the  trip,  and  to  catch  the  breath  of 
the  driver.  We  agreed  to  admit  a  touch  of  gar- 
lic, but  nothing  beyond  that  in  the  way  of  arti- 


202    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE 

ficial  stimulation.  The  combination  was  found  in 
due  time  at  a  cost  of  150,000  reis,  and  then  it  was 
we  wished  the  lucky  winner  of  the  night  before 
was  of  our  party  so  we  could  stick  him  for  the 
price,  but  we  gladly  paid  and  were  soon  settled 
for  the  trip.  I  was  on  the  back  seat  with  a  charm- 
ing girl  on  each  side,  and  certainly  did  plead  for 
them  to  *'sit  close  please,"  when  we  began  to  climb 
the  mountain,  for  being  dressed  in  regulation  sum- 
mer apparel,  my  appeal  was  based  on  necessity. 
The  journey  was  made  without  the  least  discom- 
fort, in  fact  it  ended  all  too  soon,  as  my  plea 
brought  forth  a  kindly  response.  It  was  a  weird 
ride,  for  the  night  was  inky  black,  with  a  bank  of 
clouds  hanging  over  the  mountains,  and  this  black- 
ness was  made  more  intense  by  fitful  flashes  of 
lightning.  There  are  some  pronounced  hairpin 
curves  in  the  mountains  of  Porto  Rico  and  along 
the  canon  walls  of  the  Yosemite,  but  we  rounded 
at  least  two  points  on  this  trip  that  would  make 
the  worst  curve  in  Porto  Rico  look  like  nothing 
more  than  a  bend  in  a  well  balanced  race  course. 
I  am  not  a  nervous  party  by  any  means,  but  am 
free  to  confess  a  feeling  of  relief  when  the  ma- 
chine stopped  standing  on  the  left  hind  wheel  in  its 
effort  to  get  around  a  corner. 

It  has  been  a  strenuous  day,  and  even  my  west 
coast  pillow  of  pitiless  stone  was  restful,  and  I 
was  soon  dreaming  of  sailing  around  in  an  air- 
plane, accompanied  by  two  charming  angels.     One 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   203 

of  the  young  ladies  who  was  with  the  party  at 
Santos  came  to  the  hotel  last  night,  and  later  we 
went  to  her  home.  It  was  a  short  distance  and 
we  walked.  Mr.  E.  and  I  were  walking  behind  the 
ladies  and  he  told  me  we  were  in  the  "submerged" 
district.  This  was  surprising  for  the  houses  were 
very  attractive.  After  leaving  the  young  lady  at 
her  door  we  made  a  tour  through  the  section,  and 
found  it  a  fine  residential  quarter.  Side  by  side 
with  elegant  homes  of  noted  people  and  well-to-do 
citizens,  were  the  dens  of  vice.  Broad,  uncurtain- 
ed windows  held  from  two  to  five  decorated  dames 
alert  to  flag  any  possible  client  who  might  pass 
by.  It  was  either  too  early  in  the  evening  or  else 
trade  was  slow,  for  there  did  not  seem  to  be  room 
for  any  more  samples  in  the  windows.  We  walk- 
ed slowly,  taking  in  perhaps  ten  blocks  on  our 
journey,  and  were  able  to  study  the  types  briefly. 
Several  windows  were  full  of  Japanese,  and  others 
were  evidently  European,  but  native  women  were 
not  in  evidence.  The  Poles  and  Slavs  seem  to 
dominate  the  class.  Nearly  every  block  has  a 
policeman  in  or  near  the  center,  so  he  can  watch 
the  situation  from  a  vantage  point.  It  was  a  glar- 
ing exhibition  of  vice,  and  I  doubt  if  its  like  can 
be  found  except  in  the  Orient.  There  is  a  segre- 
gated section  given  over  to  this  world-old  traffic  in 
Montevideo,  and  we  made  a  tour  through  it  one 
night,  but  the  window  display  was  conspicuous 
for  its  absence ;  the  curtains  being  carefully  drawn, 


204   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

but  another  method  was  practiced.  We  found  the 
door  panels  had  peep  holes  bored  through,  and 
we  could  see  the  eyes  of  the  inmates  watching 
through.  When  we  would  stop  in  front  of  one  of 
these  doors  a  blooming  racket  would  immediately 
start  up.  They  would  pound  on  the  door  and  in 
one  instance  a  cow  bell  was  vigorously  rung. 
"Old  Mexico"  took  exception  to  this,  saying  it  was 
too  suggestive  of  the  beast.  Two  or  three  doors 
were  cautiously  opened,  and  a  liberal  display  of 
diaphanous  covered  bodies  was  shown,  but  if  this 
is  seen  by  the  police  there  is  trouble  due  in  that 
particular  emporium.  Between  the  two  cities  the 
lesser  evil  is  likely  in  Montevideo,  for  the  utterly 
sordid  atmosphere  in  the  latter  city  tends  to  lessen 
the  desire  for  that  class  of  entertainment,  but 
there  is  that  which  is  more  or  less  alluring  in  the 
attractive  display  of  this  city.  I  did  not  see  any 
of  the  questionable  quarter  in  Buenos  Aires,  and 
do  not  think  it  exists  as  found  here,  but  the  traffic 
goes  on  just  the  same.  Before  leaving  Buenos 
Aires  I  visited  a  famous  (?)  joint,  having  a  world- 
wide reputation.  It  is  known  as  Pigalles,  and  is 
the  upper  floor  of  a  music  hall.  Here  the  girls 
engage  in  open  bids  on  the  market,  approaching 
and  hanging  on  to  a  prospective  customer  tena- 
ciously until  they  close  a  deal  or  see  it  is  hopeless. 
Of  the  three  cases  noted,  this  latter  is  the  most 
pitiful,  for  one  would  listen  to  the  appeal  and  note 
the  expression  of  weary  despair  when  it  was  found 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE   205 

in  vain.  There  are  many  complaints  from  ladies 
in  Buenos  Aires,  saying  they  were  constantly  being 
annoyed  on  the  street,  and  this  is  largely  due  to 
the  prevailing  style  of  dress.  Some  of  my  read- 
ers will  recall  the  play  "Johnny  Get  Your  Gun," 
and  remember  that  Johnny  came  to  New  York 
when  our  ladies  had  just  adopted  the  short  skirts. 
After  being  in  the  city  for  three  weeks  a  friend 
met  him  on  the  street  one  day  and  said,  "Johnny, 
what  do  you  think  of  the  New  York  sky-line?'' 
"Sky-line,"  said  Johnny,  "What  do  you  mean,  sky- 
line?" "Why,"  said  his  friend,  "the  irregular,  but 
picturesque  tops  of  the  buildings."  "Gee  whiz," 
said  Johnny,  "I  have  not  been  able  to  get  my  eyes 
over  eighteeen  inches  above  the  ground  since  I 
have  been  in  New  York."  Well,  Johnny  could  have 
lifted  his  gaze  at  least  five  inches  nearer  the  sky- 
line any  afternoon  he  chose  to  walk  along  Avenida 
Florida.  This  sort  of  a  thing,  in  a  measure,  justi- 
fies men  in  taking  liberties  with  women,  for  such 
a  display  is  a  bid  for  an  approach.  A  very  amus- 
ing story  was  told  me  along  this  line,  and  is  well 
worth  repeating.  A  very  charming  American  lady, 
a  recent  bride,  by  the  way,  of  the  export  manager 
of  a  well  known  Rochester  establishment,  was 
walking  along  Avenida  de  Mayo.  I  might  men- 
tion, in  passing,  that  she  wears  only  the  most 
modest  of  dresses,  but  she  was  joined  by  one  of  the 
curb  lizards.  Thinking  he  had  made  a  conquest, 
he   doffed   his   hat   and   stood   before   her   smiling, 


206    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

evidently  under  the  impression  he  was  to  receive 
her  card.  Getting  out  her  purse  she  handed  him  a 
peso,  at  the  same  time  expressing  regret  that  a 
man  of  his  type  should  be  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  begging  on  the  street.  He  dropped  the  peso  as 
if  it  had  been  a  super-hot  potato,  and  with  a  mut- 
tered carambo  continued  his  walk  in  search  of 
someone  with  not  so  keen  a  sense  of  humor. 


li 

1 

t 

■■•^■;l      /^ 

^^^m-^  1 

*  *«  • 

•  •  •• 


AROUND   SOUTH   AFRICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE    207 


WHERE  THE  "GENII"  LIVE. 

CHAPTER  XVn. 

My  contact  with  the  trade  in  Sao  Paulo  was 
Hmited,  in  that  many  of  the  factories  are  owned 
and  managed  by  Italians,  and  the  feeling  is 
rather  bitter  against  the  States  just  at  this  time 
because  of  our  Government's  attitude  in  the  Fiume 
episode.  This  was  a  matter  of  profound  regret, 
for  the  city  is  the  center  of  manufacturing  in  Bra- 
zil, and  a  visit  to  many  plants  would  have  furn- 
ished interesting  data.  I  talked  with  men  other 
than  Italian  to  find  a  feeling  of  contempt,  poorly 
concealed  at  times,  because  of  our  political  atti- 
tude. And  this  feeling  was  very  pronounced  when 
word  came  that  Congress  had  adjourned  without 
the  Peace  Treaty  being  signed,  thereby  putting 
us  just  back  of  Bolivia,  and  in  the  same  class  as 
Siam,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  great  world,  in- 
stead of  being  the  leaders,  as  we  should  be,  and 
would  have  been  had  we  not  been  in  the  hands  of 
a  bunch  of  petty  tin-horn  politicians,  who  would 
send  the  world  to  the  devil  in  order  to  gratify  their 
ambition,  or  put  a  crimp  in  the  other  party. 

The  return  trip  to  Rio  was  pleasant,  as  a  heavy 
rain  the  night  before  had  cooled  the  atmosphere 
and  settled  the  dust.     I  was  up  early,  and  after 


208    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WTl'H   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

coffee  sat  in  the  lounge  car  for  two  hours  looking 
out  upon  a  scene  like  the  Porto  Rican  foot-hills 
and  distant  mountains,  but  less  beautiful.  Just 
outside  the  city  of  Rio  a  familiar  sign  brought  me 
to  attention,  for  it  read  in  big  letters  "Middletown 
Car  Co.,"  and  for  a  moment  I  half  expected  to 
hear  the  brakeman  announce  "Harrisburg  the  next 
station,  change  cars  for  Reading  and  the  Cumber- 
land Valley;  this  train  for  Pittsburgh  and  the 
west."  But  there  w^as  no  announcement  as  we 
quietly  drifted  into  the  big  up-to-date  station  at 
Rio.  The  next  day  was  a  general  holiday,  being- 
one  of  the  many  feast  days  so  numerous  in  these 
countries,  and  I  accepted  an  invitation  from  Mr. 
Tribe,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Boston  in  Buenos  Aires,  to  accompany  Mrs.  Tribe 
and  himself  on  a  trip  to  Tejuca.  The  start  was 
made  at  2  o'clock,  and  in  thirty  minutes  we  were 
clear  of  the  city,  and  starting  our  vtpward  climb, 
past  beautiful  suburban  homes,  built  on  sites  over- 
looking the  city  and  bay,  presenting  a  picture  one 
would  never  weary  of.  We  travelled  a  well-built 
road,  heavily  wooded  on  either  side,  which  shut 
out  the  view  of  everything  except  the  blue  sky 
above  until  we  came  to  the  falls.  This  is  a  little 
gem,  and  we  spent  some  time  absorbing  its  charm. 
Soon  after  leaving  the  falls  we  came  out  upon  a 
level  spot  that  had  been  cleared,  so  we  had  a  view 
of  the  city  from  an  altitude  of  about  2,000  feet, 
but  the  valley  was  veiled  in  a  haze  of  purple  that 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    209 

perhaps  added  to  the  general  beauty,  but  inter- 
fered with  the  detail,  and  an  effort  to  get  a  photo 
was  a  failure.  This  is  the  highest  point  on  the 
mountain  road  and  leaving,  we  began  to  descend 
on  the  other  side.  Half  way  down  we  stopped 
to  inspect  the  massive  boulders  thrown  together 
at  that  point.  They  are  much  like  the  noted  masses 
found  at  Ironton,  Missouri,  being  as  numerous  and 
equal  in  size.  A  noisy  river  finds  its  way  by  and 
beneath  this  picturesque  group  and  on  to  the  great 
ocean,  the  music  of  which  comes  up  to  us  as  an 
accompaniment  to  the  song  of  the  river.  At  the 
base  of  the  mountain  we  came  out  upon  a  road  cut 
in  the  face  of  granite  walls,  with  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Atlantic  breaking  on  the  white  surf  far  below 
us.  We  rode  for  miles  along  this  wonderful  road 
finally  reaching  Copacabana.  On  this  side  we 
passed  some  rock  faces  similiar  to  the  granite 
walls  of  the  Yosemite,  but  these  almost  perpendi- 
cular walls  were  covered  with  a  curious  cacti, 
which  had  twisted  themselves  into  interrogation 
points  and  shorthand  hieroglyphics,  making  a 
curious  picture.  Copacabana  is  the  immediate  sea- 
side resort  of  Rio,  and  is  happily  situated,  with  its 
background  of  noble  mountains  and  curved  beach 
of  snow-white  sands,  washed  by  the  waters  of 
the  broad  Atlantic,  untainted  by  sewage  and  other 
filth  of  the  city,  and  so  makes  an  ideal  bathing  re- 
sort, when  the  surf  is  not  too  heavy.  Many  at- 
tractive  homes   arc   built   here,   and   many   of   the 


210   AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

American  colony  live  here  throughout  the  year.  A. 
tunnel  is  cut  through  from  Flamingo  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Sugar  Loaf,  and  a  street  car  line  serves 
the  citizens.  Passing  the  tunnel  a  series  of  six  cur^ 
ved  beaches  mark  the  approach  to  the  city,  each  one 
with  its  special  mountain  background  and  hand- 
some villas.  This  drive  would  bring  exclamations 
from  the  least  enthusiastic  of  mortals,  for  it  is  un- 
surpassed in  all  the  world  for  pure  beauty  of  moun- 
tain, shore  and  sea.  The  lights  were  being  lit  as 
we  turned  into  Botofogo,  and  from  there  on  bril- 
liant lights  were  reflected  in  the  waters  and  flash- 
ed like  fireflies  through  the  dense  foliage  ahead. 
Much  has  been  written  about  the  Tejuca  trip  and 
it  is  very  fine,  but  there  are  many  drives  which 
surpass  it,  and  the  view  from  the  plateau  will  in 
no  way  compare  with  the  picture  seen  from  Cor- 
covado,  for  from  this  commanding  peak  one  looks 
out  upon  all  that  makes  for  beauty.  I  have  watch- 
ed the  sun  go  down  from  the  crater  rim  of  Vesu- 
vius and  caught  my  breath  in  ecstacy,  and  stood 
on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hamilton  and  watched 
the  big  fog  bank  roll  in  from  the  Pacific,  and  be 
touched  by  the  glory  of  the  rising  sun  turning  it 
into  an  opal  sea,  dotted  with  magic  isles,  but  when 
one  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  jutting  peak  of  Cor- 
covada  and  looks  out  over  the  matchless  scene 
of  curving  beach  and  granite  rock,  of  fairy  islands 
in  a  magic  bay,  a  toy  city  sheltered  by  mighty 
mountains,  some  of  them  grim  and  bare  and  pon- 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE   211 

derous,  others  like  the  organ  range  in  the  west, 
sending  up  sharp  point  surpassing  the  dolemites 
of  the  Italian  Alps,  all  other  visions  pale  into  in- 
significance. Turn  the  eyes  in  any  direction  and 
unearthly  beauty  is  in  view ;  beauty  of  sky  and 
cloud  and  mountain  bay  and  island,  and  the  misty 
blue  of  the  broad  Atlantic.  This  is  a  place  where 
people  keep  still,  or  speak  in  subdued  whispers, 
for  the  genii  are  all  about,  and  God  Himself  seems 
very  near.  Some  one  with  an  artist's  soul  and 
using  Kipling's  lines  as  an  inspiration,  has  seen 
Rio,  as  I  see  it,  and  gives  his  impressions  so  clever- 
ly I  venture  to  quote  him,  and  regret  his  name  is 
not  given,  so  I  could  know  this  seer  of  beautiful 
visions  and  dreamer  of  beautiful  dreams,  as  he 
must  be,  if  he  dwells  on  the  hillside  of  Botofogo 

"Where  the  sea-egg  flames  on  the  coral,  and  the 

long-back  breakers  croon. 
Their    endless    ocean    legends    to   the    lazy    locked 

lagoon." 

— Rudyard  Kipling. 

"It  is  difficult  to  explain  the  seductive  charm  oy 
Rio  de  Janeiro.  Certain  places  hold  one  by  the 
sense  of  remoteness ;  others  by  a  spell  of  natural 
and  near-by  beauty.  Rio  is  one  of  those  cities 
which  combines  the  old  and  the  new,  in  such  an 
atmosphere  of  tropical  splendor  and  color  as  to 
make   an   unforgettable   impression.     It   is  an  ex- 


212    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

ample  of  tropic-clad  statuary  of  Nature  at  her 
best.  There  is  something  quieting  and  beautifully 
magic  about  the  waters  in  Rio  Bay.  Outside  of 
imagination,  there  is  nothing  elsewhere  to  ap- 
proach its  charm,  and  he  who  dwells  here  long 
enough  is  like  one  who  dreams. 

*Tn  every  direction  one  may  look  there  are  moun- 
tains, and  a  prodigal  luxury  of  verdant  hills,  one 
rising  beyond  another  and  all  seeming  to  be  push- 
ing forward  as  if  to  keep  in  view  the  sparkling, 
smiling  waters  of  the  peerless  bay.  In  well-nigh 
every  inlet  a  cluster  of  low  houses,  with  their 
stucco  walls  and  brown  tiled  roofs,  furnish  the 
exact  colour  shades  of  white  and  dull  rose  to  blend 
with  and  not  to  jar  the  deep  green  of  the  hills  be- 
yond. Here  and  there  a  stately  royal  palm  is 
silhoutted  on  a  jutting  promontory  against  the  per- 
petual summer  sky,  keeping  one  mindful  that  he 
is  living  near  the  equator. 

"Every  tiny  cove  is  fringed  with  an  arc  of  white 
sandy  beach,  upon  which  brown-faced  children 
play.  Great  boulders  rise  out  of  the  sea  here  and 
there  as  though  they,  too,  were  loath  to  lose  the 
beauty  of  the  scenes  above  them-;  and  lest  they 
mar  the  effect,  they  cover  their  tops  with  rich 
foliage  and  rim  their  water  lines  with  green  sea 
moss. 

*'And  now  the  soft  tropical  twilight  is  falling  over 
the  bay.  The  salt  air  bl*ows  warm  but  fresh  upon 
one's  face ;  the  beat  of  the  great  ocean's  heart  can 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    213 

be  counted  more  distinctly  as  the  evening  silence 
falls,  and  the  surf  moves  further  up  the  sandy 
shore.  The  lights  come  out  from  distant  Rio  like 
fitful  fireflies,  first  flitting  here  and  there,  then  be- 
coming more  steady  in  their  myriad  radiance.  On 
many  a  rocky  inlet  a  lighthouse  begins  to  twinkle 
intermittently,  red,  white — red,  white. 

"The  bells  of  evening  come  faintly  to  the  ear, 
borne  across  the  water  from  a  small  hamlet  church 
on  a  distant  curve  of  the  bay ;  the  night  winds  sing 
overhead  in  the  eaves  of  the  palms  and  tamarinds, 
and  the  soft-sounding  sea  that  guards  Rio  takes 
you  in  its  arms  like  a  mother  her  tired  child  at 
night,  to  soothe  and  bid  you  forget  all  care." 

My  first  visit  to  Rio  was  in  December  1877,  and 
we  only  remained  in  the  harbor  long  enough  to 
get  our  mail,  for  the  city  at  that  time  was  a  pest 
hole,  almost  as  fatal  as  Panama  or  Guayaquil.  At 
that  time  thirty-two  ships  were  lying  at  anchor 
in  the  bay  with  not  even  a  caretaker  on  board  their 
crews  either  being  dead  or  had  deserted  in  fear  of 
the  fatal  fever.  We  did  not  anchor,  and  as  soon  as 
our  carbolic  soaked  mail  was  on  board  we  headed 
for  the  south,  spending  the  summer  months  at 
Montevideo  and  Buenos  Aires.  June  found  us  back 
here,  and  although  the  fever  still  prevailed  we  were 
willing  to  risk  it  in  order  to  enjoy  the  city,  which, 
even  at  that  time,  was  beautiful.  That  fever  was 
still  prevalent  was  soon  proven,  for  one  July  after- 
noon  when   I   was   on   boat   duty,   the   barge   was 


214   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

called  away,  and  brought  alongside  the  port  gang- 
way. In  a  few  minutes  the  doctor  came  over  the 
side  with  what  was  evidently  a  very  sick  man.  We 
landed  him  w^here  the  yellow^  fever  flag  was  flying 
and  after  we  got  him  on  shore  and  started  back  to 
the  ship  I  said,  ''Say,  Doctor,  what  is  that  chap 
suffering  from?"  "Yellow  fever,"  was  the  reply, 
and  I  nearly  fell  overboard  from  sheer  fright.  In 
five  minutes  I  had  every  symptom  of  the  plagued 
thing,  and  was  honestly  sick  by  the  time  w^e  got 
on  board.  However,  I  bucked  up  and  determined 
I  would  not  report  for  the  hospital  until  the  last 
minute.  I  was  on  boat  duty  for  the  9  P.  M.  trip 
and  made  it,  but  to  this  day  I  do  not  know  how^  I 
did  it.  We  had  half  an  hour  to  lay  at  the  mole  be- 
fore returning  to  the  ship,  and  as  soon  as  we  got 
-alongside  I  sent  one  of  the  boys  up  to  the  New 
York  Hotel,  which  stood  near  the  water  front, 
with  orders  to  buy  a  quart  of  cognac,  and  have  the 
cork  pulled.  When  he  returned  I  got  busy  with 
that  bottle.  When  breathless  I  rested  and  had  an- 
other pull,  and  remember  saying,  "Here  boys,  fin- 
ish this,"  and  the  next  conscious  moment  was  an 
awakening  with  a  case  of  well-known  headache, 
but  all  other  symptoms  of  the  fever  had  disappear- 
ed, and  although  we  buried  several  of  our  men, 
all  fear  of  the  tropical  pest  had  left  me. 

What  in  these  days  was  the  narrow  and  dirty 
Avenida  Central  is  now  the  wide  and  very  beauti- 
ful Avenida  Rio  Branco,  and  is  today  one  of  the 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    215 

most  beautiful  business  streets  in  the  world.  The 
Rua  Ovedor  is  still  the  same  narrow  way,  but  the 
dingy  curio  stores  of  other  days  have  given  place 
to  jewelry  stores  that  will  rival  anything  to  be 
seen  in  Fifth  avenue  or  the  Paris  shops.  Instead 
of  dusty  or  muddy  roads  they  now  have  one  of  the 
best  paved  cities  in  the  world,  and  all  ancient  filth 
and  defilement  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  Even  the 
church  walls  being  sacred,  seemingly,  which  in  the 
old  days  furnished  the  public  comfort  station.  There 
has  been  a  wonderful  clean-up,  and  neither  eye  or 
nostril  were  offended  during  my  stay  of  two  weehs 
in  the  city. 

I  was  up  early  Sunday  morning  and  at  the  Cen- 
tral Station  by  8:15  to  meet  my  good  friends  the 
Essers,  who  came  over  from  Sao  Paulo  on  the 
night  train.  After  getting  them  comfortably  set- 
tled, an  arrangement  was  made  for  a  trip  to  the 
Botanical  Gardens.  A  mental  picture  of  this  place 
had  lingered  in  my  mind  for  forty  odd  years,  and 
its  beauty  had  been  heightened  by  both  song  and 
story  dealing  with  its  wonders,  but  immediate  con- 
tact brought  a  cruel  disillusionment.  The  Avenue 
of  Royal  Palms  is  there,  and  it  is  truly  wonder- 
ful, but  remove  that  and  the  everyday  visitor  will 
find  little  to  interest  him.  The  grounds  are 
wretchedly  kept.  Rotting  palm  branches  are  piled 
along  the  walks,  which  are  grass-grown  in  many 
places  and  strewn  with  dead  leaves.  Altogether 
there  is  an  atmosphere  of  unpicturesque  neglect. 


216    AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

There  is  a  great  variety  of  trees,  which  doubtless 
would  interest  the  naturalist,  but  none  of  these 
trees,  save  the  Royal  palm  and  a  few  Ceibas,  have 
any  claim  to  beauty.  In  fact,  given  the  Royal  Elm 
avenue  in  Wallingford,  Conn.,  with  a  half  dozen 
New  England  oaks,  and  the  lover  of  the  beautiftil 
would  unhesitatingly  turn  his  back  upon  the 
Botanical  Garden,  and  very  soon  forget  it  ever 
existed.  There  is  an  almost  total  absence  of  flow- 
ers, and  a  few  birds,  and  so  a  sense  of  lonliness  is 
felt  throughout  the  time  spent  in  it.  The  object 
is  to  keep  as  near  to  nature  as  possible,  but  we 
sometimes  overdo  this  nature  business.  The  plant- 
ing of  a  few  flamboyant  and  other  flowering  trees 
would  give  the  place  an  inexpressible  charm,  if 
at  the  same  time,  it  could  be  kept  reasonably  free 
from  rubbish,  for  the  location  is  picturesque,  with 
Corcovada  standing  guard  above  it. 

The  restaurant  that  was  opposite  the  main  ( n- 
trance  has  been  removed,  much  to  my  regret,  for 
it  was  in  this  place  I  had  my  first  sad  experience 
with  an  unknown  tongue.  My  friend  Wilkenson 
and  I  tramped  through  the  garden  for  two  hours, 
and  were  hungry.  When  the  waiter  inquired  if 
we  would  have  French  or  English  soup  we  both 
called  for  French,  possibly  because  it  was  men- 
tioned first,  for  we  had  no  idea  what  would  be 
served  us.  We  found  it  delicious  and  I  called  for 
the  second  plate,  at  the  same  time  telling  the 
waiter  in  my  best  sign  language  to  tell  me  what 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   217 

it  was  made  of.  He  understood  all  right,  but  his 
education  along  this  line  had  been  neglected,  so  he 
tried  in  vain  to  answer  my  question  verbally. 
When  we  finished  and  were  enjoying  our  coffee 
and  cigarette  a  brilliant  idea  came  to  the  waiter. 
He  came  in  with  the  same  expression  on  his  face 
Columbus  had  when  he  heard  ''Land  Ho"  called. 
He  was  about  to  execute  a  stroke  of  genius,  and 
coming  to  my  side  of  the  table  he  opened  a  shell 
he  held  in  his  hand  and  dropped  a  loathsome  worm 
on  my  plate.  The  plate  was  tilted  and  it  slid  across 
it  leaving  a  trail,  and  this  beast  was  the  basis  of 
the  famous  soup.  It  was  a  case  of  ''one  look  and 
all  was  over."  Standing  on  the  site  nearly  half 
a  century  later  I  felt  a  momentary  upheaval,  .ind 
perhaps  it  is  just  as  well  no  opportunity  was  given 
to  lunch  in  the  old  place,  for  this  same  memory 
might  have   intruded  and  interfered   materially. 

One  of  Mr.  Niles'  good  letters  brought  me  in 
contract  with  Mr.  Swingley  who  has  charge  of 
the  Du  Pont  interests  in  South  America.  This  let- 
ter secured  for  me  a  fourteen-day  card  to  the 
"Club  Central,"  an  invitation  to  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  dinnner,  and,  best  of  all,  the  privilege  of 
having  my  Thanksgiving  dinner  with  Mr.  Swing- 
ley  and  his  charming  lady.  It  fell  short  on  turkey, 
cranberry  sauce,  pumpkin  pie  and  celery ;  not  one 
of  which  was  in  evidence,  but  it  was  more  than 
made  up  for  by  the  atmosphere  of  kindliness  all 
about,  and  the  subjects  of  mutual  interest  so  happi- 


218   AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

ly  discussed.  Mental  pictures  of  other  Thanks- 
giving dinners  presented  themselves,  and  I  re- 
called the  first  green  corn  of  the  season  served  in 
far  ofif  Johannisburg  on  this  National  day,  with 
watermellon  for  desert  instead  of  pumpkin  pie ; 
and  years  later  a  wonderful  dinner  with  all  the  de- 
tails complete  at  the  Seville  in  Havana,  1)ut  grim 
tragedy  sat  at  the  table  with  us,  for  two  hearts 
were  aching  and  breaking,  although  the  lips  sm.il- 
ed  and  jested  for  two  awful  hours,  I  want  to  for- 
get this  and  remember  the  perfectly  happy  night 
spent  with  my  good  friends  the  Robinsons  of  Liver- 
pool, who  shamed  me  by  remembering  the  day 
and  served  me  a  perfect  Thanksgiving  dinner^ 
when  I  had  utterly  forgotten  for  the  time.  So 
memory  casts  back  over  the  years  and  celebrations 
in  distant  places;  some  sad,  but  many  full  of  joy- 
ful recollection. 

Saturday  did  not  bid  fair  for  an  excursion,  but 
as  my  time  was  getting  short  I  decided  to  risk  a 
trip  to  Petropolis.  Rain-filled  clouds  were  roll- 
ing in  from  the  ocean,  but  an  occasional  glint  of 
sunshine  bid  us  hope.  The  sun  was  shining  when 
we  reached  the  foot-hills,  but  the  cog  road  had  not 
carried  us  500  feet  before  we  were  enveloped  in  a 
dense  fog  bank,  blotting  out  everything  except  a 
nearby  waterfall  from  time  to  time  and  the  rugged 
road  we  were  mounting.  This  road  is  not  nearly 
so  attractive  as  the  similar  road  from  Sao  Paulo 
to    Santos ;    the    Santos    road    being    much     more 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    219 

abrupt,  better  built,  and  the  general  scenery  more 
beautiful,  but  Petropolis  itself  is  surely  a  gem.  A 
scotch  mist  was  falling,  but  we  hired  a  decrepit 
outfit  and  drove  around  town.  It  was  beautiful 
even  under  the  adverse  conditions,  and  on  a  fair  day 
it  must  be  an  earthly  paradise.  A  modest  river 
has  been  walled  in  and  runs  through  the  center  of 
the  town.  These  walls  were  banked  with  hy- 
drangeas in  full  bloom,  and  to  further  enhance 
the  beauty  of  the  mountain  stream,  flamboyant  and 
other  brilliant  flowering  trees  are  interspersed  with 
the  pepper  and  almond  and  other  trees  of  rich 
foliage.  There  are  many  homes  of  extreme  ele- 
gance, as  this  was  for  years  the  summer  home  of 
the  emperor  and  wealthy  Brazilians,  for  in  the 
days  of  the  empire  a  stay  at  Rio  during  the  sum- 
mer months  would  have  been  fatal ;  the  yellow 
pest  being  epidemic  always.  Now,  however,  the 
city  is  preferable,  being  safe,  and  the  beach  front 
of  Copacabana  and  the  foot-hills  of  Tejuca  afford 
home  sites  just  as  comfortable  and  comparatively 
free  from  the  cloud  cap,  which  hangs  eternally 
over  Petropolis.  It  is  therefore  losing  its  pres- 
tige as  a  summer  resort  and  will  ultimately  drop 
back  to  a  trading  point,  with  codfish  dealers  and 
coffee  traders  getting  cheap  rent  in  palatial  homes, 
but  let  us  hope  they  will  never  neglect  the  flower 
possibility  of  the  place,  for  nowhere  can  they  be 
found  in  such  profusion  or  greater  beauty. 

A  trip  had  been  made  to  the  top  of  the   Sugar 


220    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

Loaf  one  week  ago,  but  it  was  cloudy,  so  this 
morning  (Sunday)  with  a  brilliant  sun  to  start 
with,  we  decided  for  another  venture.  A  tram  car 
from  Avenida  Hotel  carries  one  out  past  the  medi- 
cal school  and  hospital  for  the  insane  to  the  termi- 
nal of  the  Air  Line  (literal  this  time)  for  the  Sugar 
Loaf.  A  cage,  holding  sixteen  to  twenty  people, 
according  to  size,  is  suspended  on  heavy  wire 
cables  and  carried  us  to  the  summit  of  Arnca. 
This  is  a  sort  of  half-way  house,  and  time  is  given 
and  pressure  is  "brought  to  bear  .upon  tourists 
to  drink  some  warm  beer  and  eat  attenuated  sand- 
wiches. We  fell  for  it  in  order  to  enjoy  the  nov- 
elty, and  novelties  come  high  always,  for  we  paid 
$2.50  for  one  real  life-sized  sandwich,  so  scientih  • 
cally  constructed  that  it  bore  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  being  three,  but  we  could  look  out  over 
a  scene,  one  view  of  which  would  be  worth  ten 
times  what  we  paid.  A  walk  of  perhaps  two  hun- 
dred yards  brought  us  to  the  second  starting  point, 
Arnca  at  this  point  is  very  abrupt  and  the  cage 
swings  out  over  a  profound  depth  at  once.  A 
beautiful  bit  of  curving  beach  lies  almost  beneath 
on  the  ocean  side,  and  off  to  the  left  is  spread  the 
panorama  of  marvelous  beauty  already  seen  from 
Corcovada,  and  described  from  that  viewpoint. 
The  trip  is  far  less  sensational  than  one  would  sup- 
pose, viewing  it  from  below,  but  it  does  give  one 
a  thrill  to  be  thus  suspended  twixt  heaven  and 
earth,  and,  at  the  center  of  the  last  reach,  those 


n 


Hold    On   To   The   Rope. 


ABOUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    221 

wires  look  confoundedly  frail.  The  view  from  the 
top  of  the  Sugar  Loaf  is  equally  impressive  as 
that  from  Corcovada  and  infinitely  more  so  than 
from  Tejuca,  but  Corcovada  being  1,000  feet  high- 
er the  view  is  more  comprehensive,  and  sightseers 
should  visit  the  Sugar  Loaf  first,  as  it  cannot  take 
anything  from  the  glory  from  Corcovada,  whilst 
Corcovada  does  dim  the  glory  of  his  lesser  brother 
somewhat.  We  remained  at  the  top  until  clouds 
gathered  about  us,  and  were  then  interested  in 
watching  the  breaks  come,  giving  a  view  of  some 
rapturous  picture  magnified  because  concentrated. 
This  peep  hole  would  close  and  another  open  re- 
vealing a  vision  still  more  entrancing,  and  sorry 
we  were  to  finally  leave  our  mountain  perch  for 
tlie  common  earth  below.  This  is  the  early  sum- 
mer season,  and  there  have  been  some  few  very 
hot  days,  with  two  or  three  uncomfortable  nights, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  ever  gets  as  distressing  as 
in  New  York  or  Pittsburgh  during  midsummer, 
for  a  refreshing  sea  breeze  is  sure  to  come  in  the 
afternoon  and  the  land  breeze  sets  in  by  10:30  at 
night. 

A  shopping  trip  in  Rio  for  the  first  time  is  sure 
to  give  one  a  jolt,  for  when  300$000  stares  one  in 
the  face  as  the  price  of  a  suit  of  clothes,  and 
70$000  for  a  pair  of  shoes,  with  a  wild  array  of 
figures  on  all  other  necessary  habiliments,  they 
are  inclined  to  pray  for  weather  just  a  little  warm- 
er, so  they  might  consistently  revert  to  the  fig  leaf, 


222    AROUND   SOUTH    A3IERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

and  bare  feet.  The  fact  that  300$000  only  repre- 
sents about  $95.00  in  real  money  makes  the  figure 
none  the  less  staggering,  and  the  humor  of  Mark 
Twain's  lunch  in  Madeira  before  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  their  money  values  is  quite  appar- 
ent. As  he  tells  it,  a  party  of  four  had  lunch  in 
one  of  the  seemingly  modest  restaurants,  ordering 
a  bottle  of  wine,  which  he  had  been  told  was  verv 
cheap  on  the  Island.  It  was  Twain's  treat,  i  nd 
he  stopped  for  a  moment  when  he  saw  the  foot- 
ing read  31$500.  Taking  out  his  wallet  contain- 
ing $800.00  and  unhooking  his  watch  from  the 
chain,  he  laid  them  on  the  table ;  then  turning 
solemnly  to  the  waiter  said,  "If  this  is  not  suifi- 
cient  to  settle  my  bill,  you  can  go  to  hell." 

There  are  several  large  industries  in  and  around 
Rio.  Three  cotton  mills  employing  about  1,800 
people  each,  and  a  match  factory  in  Nichtheroy 
being  the  largest  in  the  way  of  factories,  but  there 
is  a  ship  building  plant  of  considerable  importance 
situated  on  one  of  the  larger  islands  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  bay.  I  visited  the  match  factory  and 
was  shown  through  it  in  detail  by  the  courteous 
manager,  Senor  Maderos.  It  is  up  to  date  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  speed  being  the  watchword. 
They  employ  700  people,  and  turn  out  700,000 
boxes  'of  wood  and  wax  matches  daily.  They  are 
equipped  with  a  regular  cotton  mill  for  the  latter 
product,  and  the  process  of  spinning,  twisting,  dip- 
ping and  cutting  is  very  interesting,  and  the  fur- 


AKOUND  SOUTH  AMERICA   WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE   223 

ther  process  of  heading,  boxing,  labelling  and 
stamping  reminds  me  of  the  cigarette  machines  in 
the  Camel  factory  at  Winston-Salem,  the  machine 
here  being  almost  as  "human"  in  its  automatic 
work.  The  Rotary  Club  stopped  off  at  Winston 
en  route  to  Atlanta  for  the  convention,  two  years 
ag,  and  we  visited  the  Camel  plant.  Standing  be- 
side one  of  the  cigarette  machines  and  watching 
it  take  a  ribbon  of  paper,  drop  the  exact  amount 
of  tobacco  on  it,  roll  and  seal  the  edge,  cut  off  at 
the  rate  of  580  per  minute,  and  neatly  drop  them 
into  the  rack,  brought  a  quaint  comment  from  one 
of  our  Allentown  brothers.  Laying  his  hand  on 
my  shoulder  he  said :  'Tf  you  would  say  hello  to 
dat  tam  ting  it  would  tell  you  to  shut  up  and  don't 
pother  me,  I  vas  busy."  The  match  machines  ini- 
press  one  the  same  way. 

Rio  has  a  superb  electric  outfit,  the  Light  and 
Power  Company  furnishing  light  and  power  to 
factories,  warehouses  and  homes  at  a  very  rea- 
sonable rate.  This  is  made  possible  by  harnessing 
the  falls  at  Ribeiro  las  Lages,  some  fifty  miles 
from  the  city.  They  generate  nearly  100.000  H. 
P.,  and  increase  it  from  time  to  time  by  adding 
more  machines.  This  company  operates  the  street 
cars  of  Rio,  and  give  rather  slow,  but  efficient  ser- 
vice ;  the  cars  being  kept  clean  and  the  conductors 
patient  with  pilgrims  who  seek  information  in  an 
unknown  tongue,  and  fret  when  the  answers  are 
not  given  so  they  can  understand.     Taking  it  full 


224   AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE   CASE 

and  by,  Brazil  has  the  best  of  the  game  over  all 
other  South  American  countries,  being  blessed 
with  inexhaustable  natural  Resources,  which,  in 
time,  will  be  developed  and  make  of  her  in  many 
cases  a  rival  of  the  U.  S.  ,  Disease  still  has  a  grip 
upon  the  people  in  many  sections,  and  this  is  a 
serious  handicap;  for  the  authorities  have  to  deal 
with  a  primitive  people  in  great  numbers,  and  un- 
til they  are  reached  with  some  degree  of  educa- 
tion they  must  count  on  these  plagues  of  small- 
pox and  yellow  fever.  Rio  is  singularly  free,  as 
before  stated,  but  other  large  cities  in  the  Republic 
suffer  sadly,  simply  because  they  cannot  control 
these  citizens  as  yet.  However,  all  this  will  be 
cleared  up  in  the  near  future.  Bahia,  Para  and 
Pernambuca  are  not  nearly  as  pest  ridden  today  as 
Rio  was  forty  years  ago,  and  in  less  than  half  that 
time  we  will  see  these  cities  in  the  same  class 
with  Rio,  so  far  as  general  health  goes,  and  when 
this  is  brought  about  Brazil  will  put  the  famous 
Garden  of  Eden  in  the  "also  ran"  class. 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE    CASE    225 

FAREWELL  TO  RIO. 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Our  ship  was  booked  to  sail  November  twenty- 
second,  but  the  date  was  advanced  from  time  to  time 
until  final  word  came  saying  we  would  surely  leave 
December  1st.  There  was  no  regret  because  of 
the  delay,  for  had  she  sailed  on  the  twenty-second 
many  pleasant  and  profitable  hours  would  have 
been  missed,  but  the  delay  allowed  me  to  attend 
to  my  business  successfully,  and  a  chance  to  see 
something  of  this  wonderful  land.  The  Inter- 
national Machinery  Company,  and  the  Grace  Com- 
pany gave  me  every  assistance  and  did  everything 
to  make  my  stay  pleasant.  Then  too  there  is  ihe 
Roof  Garden  of  the  Palace  Hotel  and  the  "Missouri 
Waltz"  with  one  dear  girl  who  could  dance.  The 
result  of  my  recent  illness  still  lingers,  but  this 
was  forgotten  and  for  the  time  being  I  was  a  boy 
again.  She  and  her  husband  came  to  the  ship  to 
bid  me  adieu,  and  each  of  us  agreed  that  we  would 
never  hear  the  strains  of  the  "Missouri"  without 
seeing  the  white  walled  roof,  and  have  a  vision  of 
the  fairy  lights  reflected  on  mirrored  waters,  with 
battlements  of  shadowy  mountains  all  about  us, 
and  overhead  the  purple  dome  with  Orion's  bril- 
liant sword  and  belt  under  the  red  glare  of  Aide- 


226   AROUND    SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE   CASE 

baran  and  Canopus  scintillating  like  a  mighty 
diamond  in  the  midst  of  the  starry  host.  Moore 
tell  us ;  ''If  woman  can  make  the  worst  wilderness 
dear,  Think,  think  what  she  would  make  of  the 
Vale  of  Cashmere."  Well,  had  he  gotten  to  Rio 
under  happy  conditions  he  would  never  have  writ- 
ten these  oft  quoted  lines,  in  that  he  could  not 
make  "dear"  and  "Rio"  fit  in  any  way,  and  Cash- 
mere would  have  been  forgotten.  It  was  nearly 
six  o'clock  when  we  left  the  dock  and  before  we 
passed  out  of  the  bay  the  city  was  ablaze  with 
lights,  presenting  a  new  picture  to  our  delighted 
gaze.  The  avenida  lig'hts  along  the  water-front 
following  the  graceful  curves  of  the  seven  semi- 
circular bays  between  the  city  and  the  Sugar  Loaf 
made  a  perfect  festoon,  with  a  perfect  reproduc- 
tion reflected  from  the  face  of  the  sparkling  wa- 
ters. This  gem-like  beauty  ended  at  the  base  of 
the  Sugar  Loaf,  which  was  all  the  more  grim  be- 
cause of  the  entrancing  beauty  that  lay  at  its  feet. 
Its  granite  walls  shut  out  the  wondrous  scene,  and 
a  half-smothered  sigh  struggled  for  expression  as 
the  view  narrowed  and  finally  faded.  As  we  pas- 
sed out  into  the  Atlantic  the  lights  of  Copacabana 
came  into  view.  This  beach  is  a  vast  semi-circle 
lit  at  regular  intervals  with  powerful  electric 
lights,  and  at  a  distance  of  four  or  five  miles  it  re- 
sembled a  necklace  of  iridescent  pearl  stretched 
out  upon  a  black  velvet  cloth.  The  lighthouse  at 
the   extreme   end   further  carried   out   the   illusion, 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA   WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    227 

being  the  diamond  pendant  ready  to  drop  into  place 
when  clasped  about  the  throat  of  Aphrodite  at 
the  Sea  Nymphs'  ball.  A  glow,  soft  as  the  color  of 
a  butterfly's  wing,  lit  up  the  spaces  between  the 
hills ;  the  Sugar  Loaf  silhouetted  against  it  in  clear 
outline  and  crowned  with  a  brilliant  light  resem- 
bling a  wonderful  star  far  up  in  the  heavens.  Back 
and  beyond  this  ''Watchman  at  the  Gate,"  stood 
Corcovada  and  his  many  brothers  of  the  eternal 
hills,  all  touched  with  a  lambient  light.  Perhaps 
the  twilight  hour  in  "Jerusalem  the  Golden"  may 
be  something  like  this,  but  it  could  not  be  more 
beautiful.  The  aforementioned  sigh  escaped  in 
full  volume  as  the  sea  and  shore  line  blended. 
Farewell  Rio,  and  may  I  see  your  glorious  face 
from  Corcovada  once  more  before  I  book  my 
final  passage ! 

I  am  doomed  to  experience  the  greatest  discom- 
fort since  leaving  New  York,  and  the  slow  speed 
of  this  ship  would  indicate  at  least  thirty  days  of 
it.  She  is  overcrowded,  and  I  am  herded  in  with 
two  other  pilgrims.  Thank  heaven,  they  are  both 
gentlemen  in  manner  and  habit,  so  it  might  be 
worse.  Added  to  my  other  discomforts  is  an  army 
of  children,  one  of  whom  is  provided  with  my  pet 
aversion  in  the  shape  of  a  mouth  organ.  The  in- 
ventor of  this  instrument  of  torture  should  be 
classed  with  the  maker  of  the  first  Klaxon  horn, 
and  I  shall  ask  for  a  week-end  vacation  for  at 
least   one   million   years   in   order   that   I   may   go 


£28    AROUXD   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A   SAMPLE   CASE 

down  to  their  rightful  habitation  and  watch  them 
burn.  And  should  the  stokers  show  signs  of 
fatigue  during  my  visits  they  will  have  a  cheerful 
volunteer   to   help   them   shovel   coal. 

The  first  three  days  out  from  Rio  found  me 
hanging  over  the  ship's  bow,  it  being  the  only  quiet 
spot  to  be  found  between  4  A.  M.,  and  midnight. 
There  is  a  good  Samaritan  on  board,  a  Mr.  Ward, 
and  he  noticed  my  distress  with  due  sympathy, 
and  told  me  he  would  see  what  could  be  done  to 
help  me  out.  The  next  morning  he  was  on  guard 
at  the  main  gangway,  and  when  I  joined  him  he 
said,  'T  am  looking  for  the  captain,  and  when  he 
comes  along  we  will  both  tackle  him  for  the  use 
of  the  chart  room  for  you."  Just  then  the  cap- 
tain came  along,  and  assuming  a  solemn  counte- 
nance I  said :  "Captain,  I  am  like  unto  the  voices  of 
the  wandering  wind,  which  moan  for  rest  but  rest 
can  never  find,  except  when  hanging  over  the 
bow,  and  writing  is  quite  impossible  there.  Can 
you  find  me  some  quiet  corner  that  can  be  called 
my  own  for  three  or  four  hours  each  day?"  "Sure 
I  can,"  he  said,  "Come  along  with  me,"  and  he 
took  me  to  the  chart  room  where  he  cleared  the 
desk  telling  me  I  was  welcome  to  its  use  at  all 
hours  day  or  night.  This  is  a  great  privilege, 
and  will  insure  me  a  chance  to  link  up  my  notes. 
Ward  seems  as  well  pleased  as  myself,  and  is  now 
in  search  of  some  other  mortal  in  distress.  Had 
he  lived  in  the  days  of  old  he  would  have  been  a 


AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE   229 

knight  errant,  for  he  is  ever  ready  to  render  un- 
obtrusive service,  with  a  kindly  word  for  all  oc- 
casions. There  is  a  sad  heart  on  board  going  home 
from  Rio  with  her  two  babies,  the  oldest  four  and 
the  other  less  than  one  year  old.  In  the  hold, 
sealed  in  lead,  is  the  body  of  her  loved  one.  He  was 
romping  in  the  surf  at  5  o'clock,  and  at  eight  that 
same  evening  was  dead.  A  brilliant  naval  career 
was  ended,  leaving  a  pitiful  stretch  of  lonely  years 
before  his  loved  one  and  her  kiddies.  Ward,  with 
his  ever  ready  smile,  frequently  breaks  the  trend 
of  her  sad  thoughts,  when  childish  prattle  of 
Daddy  brings  tears  to  her  eyes.  There  are  several 
fine  fellows  on  board,  and  already  many  delightful 
hours  have  been  spent  with  genial  Captain  Robin- 
son. He  is  a  typical  English  sea  captain,  with  a 
fund  of  sea  tales,  and  the  ability  to  tell  them  well, 
and  there  is  sure  to  be  many  a  first  watch  kept  un- 
til the  relief  comes  on  at  midnight  with  he  and  I 
on  the  bridge  or  in  his  cabin. 

The  picturesque  mountains  of  Rio  and  vicinity 
have  given  place  to  flat  shore  line,  not  unlike  the 
Jersey  coast  as  we  approach  Bahia.  The  city  is 
located  at  the  mouth  of  a  bay  greater  in  extent 
than  is  the  body  of  water  back  of  Rio,  but  is  un- 
interesting. The  city  covers  a  series  of  abrupt 
bluffs,  and  makes  an  attractive  picture  from  an- 
chorage, ^nd  that  is  all  we  will  see  of  it,  as  there 
is  a  plague  of  smallpox  raging,  with  from  forty  to 
sixty   dying   daily,   and   yellow   fever   released   its 


230    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

grip  on  the  place  less  than  a  month  ago.  There 
are  still  sporadic  cases  of  fever  and  one  case  of, 
bubonic  is  reported,  so  an  order  was  posted  telling 
us  no  passengers  would  be  allowed  ashore.  This 
was  the  ruling  of  the  health  authorities,  but  a 
horde  of  negro  stevedores  overran  the  ship  for 
thirty  hours,  rubbing  elbows  with  the  passengers 
and  lounging  in  our  chairs  during  the  night.  An 
"inspection  of  arms"  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and 
the  question  "have  you  been  vaccinated?"  religi- 
ously asked.  Everbody  was  pronounced  immune 
and  of  course  we  are,  and  could  have  gone  ashore 
in  absolute  safety.  This  is  my  first  visit  to  Bahia, 
and  not  getting  on  shore  is  a  great  disappointment. 
One  thousand  tons  of  coffee,  sugar  and  coca  beans 
were  taken  on  board,  and  at  5  P.  M.  Sunday  we 
headed  out  the  bay  for  Para.  We  have  as  passen- 
ger with  us  Dr.  Hackett,  the  noted  bacteriologist, 
who  is  in  charge  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation 
work  in  Brazil  and  has  been  identified  with  that 
organization  for  many  years.  Last  night  he  told 
me  an  interesting  story  of  how  an  appeal  for  help 
after  the  great  storm  in  Porto  Rico  the  fall  of 
1901  brought  a  shipload  of  provisions  to  the  strick- 
en island,  and  how,  after  feeding  the  people  they 
still  had  the  appearance  of  being  starved.  Dr. 
Ashford  reached  the  conclusion  that  some  disease 
had  fastened  upon  them.  His  investigation  demon- 
strated that  practically  every  one  on  the  island 
was  suffering  from  what  had  been  known  for  many 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE   231 

years  in  Europe  as  tunnel  disease,  but  not  sus- 
pected on  this  side  of  the  water.  Further  investi- 
gation showed  that  persons  affected  had  their 
efficiency  cut  down  from  an  ability  to  pick  eight 
measures  of  coffee  in  harvesting  to  a  struggle  to 
pick  one  in  a  day. 

Dr.  Styles,  acting  on  information  from  Dr.  Ash- 
ford,  arriving  in  Washington,  inaugurated  a  cam- 
paign to  ascertain  if  this  disease  had  gotten  a  foot- 
hold in  the  States.  He  found  an  appalling  condi- 
tion existing  throughout  the  Southland,  and  learn- 
ed that  our  so-called  lazy  niggers  and  still  more 
worthless  whites,  were  really  suffering  from  this 
insidious  disease.  The  known  data  was  laid  be- 
fore Mr.  Rockefeller  in  1908,  and  a  million  dollars 
were  given  by  him,  having  in  view  the  arrest  and 
elimination  of  this  plague.  It  was  a  heroic  task, 
as  it  was  found  that  millions  and  millions  of  peo- 
ple located  in  a  belt  around  the  world  from  about 
thirty  degrees  above  the  equator  to  thirty-six  de- 
grees below,  were  its  victims,  and  other  millions 
were  added  to  the  first  amount  in  order  to  go  after 
the  thing  properly.  This  fund  is  now  one  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  and  is  being  used  in 
the  investigation  of  all  the  chief  diseases  which  af- 
fect mankind.  It  has  been  instrumental  in  almost 
removing  yellow  fever  from  the  earth,  and  reduc- 
ing the  area  and  virulence  of  other  diseases.  Data 
gathered  in  Brazil  by  Dr.  Hackett  shows  that  over 
fifteen  million  of  the  inhabitants  are  sufferers  from 


232    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA   WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

hookworm,  and  they  are  being  treated  at  the  rate 
of  50,000  each  month.  The  organization  has  ten 
stations  and  is  being  ably  supported  by  the  Brazil- 
ian government,  the  arrangement  being  for  the 
foundation  to  appropriate  one  quarter  the  amount 
of  the  funds  necessary  to  carry  on  the  work,  to 
which  the  state  adds  another  quarter.  The  federal 
government  then  contributes  the  other  half,  and 
the  work  goes  on.  Although  it  was  rather  a  grue- 
some story  of  suffering  and  frequent  death,  it  was 
yet  fascinating  to  learn  how  a  pesky  larva  enters 
the  foot,  usually  by  way  of  the  tender  tissue  be- 
tween the  toes,  works  itself  into  the  blood ;  passes 
through  the  heart  and  into  the  lungs.  There,  get- 
ting into  one  of  the  minute  veins,  and  being  block- 
ed, it  proceeds  to  bore  its  way  to  freedom,  and  fur- 
ther cussedness  by  way  of  the  air  chambers.  From 
the  air  chambers  it  reaches  the  windpipe  and  is 
swallowed,  reaching  its  permanent  home  in  the 
intestines.  Once  there  'in  sufficient  numbers  they 
will  drain  three  or  four  ounces  Of  the  victim's  blood 
daily,  the  loss  of  which  will  soon  send  the  suft"erer 
into  the  kingdom  of  Avorms.  It  is  comforting  to 
know  a  specific  has  been  found,  and  that  from  two 
to  five  treatments  effect  a  permanent  cure,  barring- 
further  infection. 

We  also  have  Dr.  McCall  and  his  wife  and  daugh- 
ter with  us  going  home  for  a  much  needed  rest  after 
three  and  one-half  years'  labor  in  the  Presbyterian 
mission    of    Brazil.      The    doctor   preached   a   very 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE    283 

able  sermon  today,  taking  for  his*  text  "It  is  I, 
be  not  afraid,"  and  reading  the  i07th  Psalm,  laying 
great  stress  on  the  23rd  and  24th  verses.  It  was 
a  sermon  for  those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in 
ships,  that  do  business  in  great  waters,  and  he 
materially  helped  us  ''see  the  works  of  the  Lord 
and  his  wonders  in  the  deep."  Dr.  McCall  is  in 
charge  of  field  work  in  Northern  Brazil,  and  seems 
hopeful  of  the  future,  although  he  has  encounter- 
ed the  keenest  opposition  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  twenty-seven  years  he  has  put  in  at  this 
work.  But  patience  and  faith  has  gained  ground 
everywhere,  and  they  no  longer  feel  the  need  of 
a  fort  in  which  to  conduct  their  divine  services. 
Mrs.  McCall,  who  has  served  twenty  years,  told 
how  on  one  occasion  they  huddled  in  an  inner 
room  and  listened  to  the  bombardment  lasting  un- 
til after  midnight.  Curiously  enough  it  was  a  re- 
production of  an  old  bible  incident.  In  this  par- 
ticular town  lived  another  Demetrius,  only  he 
worked  in  wax,  and  was  a  maker  of  figures  of  the 
many  saints,  and  when  he  learned  of  Dr.  McCall's 
coming  he  got  busy  and  doubtless  said  to  the  peo- 
ple "moreover  ye  see  and  hear ;  that  not  alone  at 
A  Lapa  but  almost  throughout  Brazil  this  man 
McCall  hath  persuaded  and  turned  away  much 
people,  saying  that  they  be  no  saints  which  are 
made  by  hand,  so  that  not  only  this  one  craft  is 
in  danger  to  be  set  at  naught ;  but  also  that  the 
temple   of   Our   God   should  be   despised   and  her 


234    AROUND   SOUTH    AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

magnificence  should  be  destroyed,  whom  all  Brazil 
and  the  world  worshipeth."  We  read  that  wdien  the 
people  of  Ephesus  heard  these  sayings  they  were 
full  of  wrath  and  the  whole  city  was  filled  with 
confusion.  Unfortunately  in  this  case  there  w^as 
no  town  clerk  to  appease  the  people,  and  they 
threw  stones  and  invectives  until  they  finally  grew 
weary  and  retired.  The  doctor  and  his  family 
made  an  early  start  the  next  morning,  and  es- 
caped further  assault.  It  seems  the  priests,  for 
many  years,  told  the  people  our  missionaries  were 
servants  of  the  devil  first,  and  any  time  they  had 
left  over  after  his  ministry  was  fulfilled  was  put 
in  with  the  object  in  view  of  subjugating  the  land 
and  making  the  people  vassals  of  the  United  States, 
and  they  were  earnestly  called  upon  to  rise  and 
thrust  out  the  insidious  invaders,  but  they  were 
now  learning  that  this  same  insidious  invader 
brings  with  him  medicine  to  cure  their  physical 
ills  and  imparts  knowledge  whereby  they  learn 
how  to  get  the  most  out  of  their  narrow  lives.  That 
he  touches  their  sympathy  with  a  music  they  can 
understand,  and,  shows  them  wonderful  pictures  of 
the  outside  world  with  the  aid  of  a  portable  magic 
lantern,  and  so  they  are  being  taught  the  truth  that 
makes  men  free. 

We  have  been  sailing  about  100  miles  from  the 
coast  in  order  to  escape  the  many  bad  places  shown 
on  the  chart,  but  turned  in  during  the  night  and 
took  on  the  pilot  at  4:30  this  morning.     The  in- 


AROUND   SOU'tH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE   235 

tense  blue  water  we  have  been  riding  through  for 
the  past  week  has  given  place  to  a  jade  color,  which 
grows  deeper  every  hour  as  we  approach  the  mouth 
of  the  mighty  river.  Captain  Robinson  tells  me  he 
has  seen  the  water  discolored  200  miles  from  the 
coast  during  the  March  floods,  and  at  that  time  a 
great  wedge  of  fresh  water  is  driven  into  the  body 
of  the  ocean  and  ships  can  fill  their  water  tanks 
from  it  miles  from  shore.  Americans  are  told  we 
have  the  "Father  of  Waters,"  but  that  being  so, 
the  Amazon  must  be  the  grandfather  all  right. 
We  anchored  five  miles  from  the  landing  at  Para, 
and  yesterday  all  hands  left  the  ship  in  the  com- 
pany tug  for  a  visit  on  shore.  It  was  at  this  place 
the  romance  of  rubber  was  w^ritten  (see  library 
book  on  rubber.)  This  is  also  the  shipping  point 
for  the  woods  of  Brazil,  which  are  world  famous 
for  beauty  and  utility.  The  Brazil  wood,  for  in- 
stance, produces  a  valuable  dye,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  more  beautiful  than  the  finest  mahogany. 
The  Jacaranda  also  produces  a  dye  and  is  used 
extensively  for  veneer,  but  the  most  remarkable 
is  the  Pau  roxo.  This  has  a  fine  grain  and  is  a 
rich  purple,  producing  a  lasting  dye.  Another 
beautiful  wood  is  the  Peroba  rosa.  This  has  a 
smooth  even  grain  and  is  the  color  of  peach  blos- 
soms. Nothing  in  the  way  of  wood  could  be  more 
dainty  in  shade.  This  produces  a  medicine  similar 
to  quinine  in  taste  and  efifect,  and  the  wood  is 
used  for  the  construction  of  fine  cabinet  work,  not 


236    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE 

only  because  it  is  attractive,  but  the  wood-eating 
worms,  so  plentiful  in  this  country,  steer  clear  of 
it.  Then  there  is  the  "Angelim  rejado"  like  the 
oak  in  appearance,  but  mottled  with  old  oak  and 
gold  attractively  blended ;  the  Pau  Santo  (holy 
wood)  very  like  black  walnut ;  the  ivory  wood,  a 
creamy  white  that  finishes  up  to  look  like  its  name, 
and  a  cedar  that  rivals  the  trees  of  Lebanon.  Ar- 
tistic woodwork  could  be  developed  from  material 
gotten  here  that  would  be  royal. 

The  city  of  Para  has  nothing  specially  attrac- 
tive except  countless  Mango  trees.  It  is  literally 
shaded  with  this  most  beautiful  tree  and  the  broad 
avenues  with  tile-front  houses  each  with  more  or 
less  of  a  flower  garden  attached,  makes  a  pleasing 
picture.  The  equator  is  only  a  few  miles  north 
from  here,  yet  midsummer  in  Pittsburgh  is  much 
hotter,  and  although  it  lies  at  the  edge  of  a  vast 
swamp  the  general  health  of  its  citizens  is  good. 
The  captain  and  I  visited  the  Botanical  garden  and 
Zoo  finding  it  more  attractive  to  the  casual  obser- 
ver than  the  more  famous  garden  in  Rio.  They 
have  a  larg'e  collection  of  the  birds  and  animals 
of  the  country,  and  in  the  museum  many  relics  of 
the  aboriginees.  Altogether  the  day  , was  w(^ll 
spent.  The  pilot  came  on  board  early  this  morn- 
ing (Thursday  December  eighteenth),  and  at  10:30 
we  were  on  our  way  to  Barbados.  A  refreshing 
breeze  came  across  the  water  to  us  from  the  near- 
by shore,  and  it  was  equal  in  sweet  perfume  to  the 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH    A    SAMPLE    CASE    237 

zephyrs  from  Arcady  the  blest.  A  delay  in  get- 
ting the  clearance  papers  this  morning  put  us  back 
nearly  two  hours,  and  we  were  compelled  to  an- 
chor for  the  night  off  Gavotas  shoals,  which  means 
another  twelve  hours  lost. 


238    AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

"FATHER  NAPKIN." 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

An  early  start  was  made  this  morning,  and  at 
noon  the  pilot  left  us.  The  dim  shore  line  of  Bra- 
zil was  yet  visible,  but  we  changed  our  course  to 
N.  by  W.  at  once  and  soon  lost  sight  of  land.  We 
crossed  the  equator  at  4  P.  M.,  but  most  of  us  are 
already  Sons  of  Neptune,  and  some  are  foster  bro- 
thers of  the  King,  so  his  Majesty  did  not  visit  the 
ship.  One  of  the  kiddies  came  to  me  with  eyes 
sparkling  and  asked  if  ''Father  Napkin"  was  com- 
ing to  see  us.  It  was  near  enough  for  me  to  un- 
derstand, and  I  was  able  to  tell  her  that  "Father 
Napkin"  had  another  job  on  hand,  and  it  was 
doubtful  if  we  would  see  him  this  trip.  The  little 
sinner  seemed  disappointed,  because  she  wanted 
to  see  them  "throw  the  mans  overboard."  It  has 
been  a  delightful  afternoon  with  the  trade  wind 
blowing  fresh  and  cool,  making  a  sharp  contrast 
to  my  last  crossing  at  this  point.  We  then  ran  in- 
to a  rain  storm  when  within  a  few  miles  of  the  line, 
and  the  wind  ceased,  leaving  us  in  a  dead  calm.  For 
three  days  we  drifted  helplessly,  whilst  the  rain 
fell  in  streams,  and  this  is  literally  true.  Had  the 
sky  been  a  tank  holding  a  million  tons  of  water, 
with  half  inch  holes  bored  in  its  bottom,  the  efifect 


AROUND   SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE   239 

would  not  have  been  different.  By  the  time  we 
got  out  of  the  rain  belt  the  ere  wwas  actually  par- 
boiled, and  the  sun  never  looked  so  good  to  me 
before  or  since  as  it  did  the  afternoon  we  broke 
through  into  his  beneficient  radiance. 

We  have  had  six  heavenly  days  sailing  over  a 
laughing  sea,  and  at  ten  o'clock  this  morning  the 
hazy  outline  of  Barbados  appeared  on  the  horizon. 
It  was  nearly  noon  before  the  shore  became  dis- 
tinct, but  everybody  was  on  deck  speculating  as 
to  the  time  we  would  make  anchor,  and  how  long 
we  would  be  on  shore.  We  found  a  number  of 
American  and  English  ships  in  the  bay,  and  an- 
chored in  their  friendly  company.  The  ship  was 
soon  surrounded  with  a  vociferous  bunch  of  boat- 
men yelling  their  heads  off  soliciting  fares  for 
the  shore.  Other  boats  had  naked  divers  to  en- 
tertain us,  one  making  the  trip  under  the  ship's 
bottom  and  on  up  the  other  side  for  the  modest 
sum  of  one  shilling.  Our  party  caught  the  "Fire- 
fly" and  literally  danced  over  the  waters  to  the 
landing.  There  was,  apparently,  the  same  crowd 
of  negroes  I  saw  here  forty  years  ago.  The  old 
section  of  the  town  is  just  as  it  was  then,  but  great 
improvements  have  been  made  on  the  island.  Two 
of  the  taxi  solicitors  followed  me  for  more  than  a 
block  pestering  me  to  take  a  ride  around  the  town. 
No  attention  was  paid  to  them  whatever,  and 
finally  one  of  them  said,  "Its  no  use,  he  is  a  damn 
German  doctor."     I  had  just  purchased  a   heavy 


240    AROUND    SOUTH   AMERICA    WITH   A    SAMPLE    CASE 

shark  bone  cane,  and  reached  for  him,  but  the  coon 
was  a  little  too  quick  in  his  getaway.  However,  he 
found  out  I  was  no  German,  and  he  also  discover- 
ed what  branch  of  the  animal  kingdom  he  origi- 
nated from.  The  streets  were  lined  with  donkey 
carts  and  thronged  with  a  motley  horde  of  every 
stage  of  dress  and  undress.  People  were  busy 
marketing,  for  tomorrow  is  Christmas,  but  there 
is  nothing  in  the  surroundings  to  suggest  the  day. 
How  the  eyes  of  these  natives  would  bulge  if  they 
could  walk  through  Lexington  Market  in  Balti- 
more at  this  same  hour  ! 

The  island  has  a  most  interesting  history  al- 
though it  has  remained  under  the  English  flag  since 
its  discovery.  King  Charles  lost  it  in  a  poker  game 
with  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  in  1627,  but  forgot  he 
had  used  it  to  settle  a  former  obligation  with 
Marlborough,  and  at  the  same  time  ignored  cour- 
teous original  settlers,  which  brought  on  civil 
war.  Heads  were  freely  broken,  but  the  Carlisle- 
ites  got  the  best  of  it  and  established  Bridgton, 
which  has  remained  the  Capital.  The  island  is 
small,  but  has  a  population  of  over  two  hundred 
thousand.  It  is  much  overcrowded  but  quite  pros- 
perous, as  it  produces  much  sugar,  and  some  cot- 
ton, and  is  self-sustaining  so  far  as  vegetables  go. 
It  is  unattractive  when  compared  with  Porto  Rico 
or  Jamaica,  but  the  climate  is  delightful  and  the 
people  seem  content. 

Today  is  Christmas  and  there  has  been  some  ef- 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE    241 

fort  put  forth  to  entertain  the  kiddies  with  a  toy 
tree  and  some  small  gifts,  but  the  Christmas  spirit 
has  been  woefully  lacking,  and  the  day  has  been 
deadly  dull.  We  are  doomed  to  spend  New  Years 
in  the  same  listless  manner,  but  each  hour  brings 
Broadway  at  least  seven  knots  nearer.  Although 
the  day  was  stupid  the  sunset  at  night  was  won- 
derful. The  great  dome  was  deep  blue,  shading 
down  to  pale  turquoise,  and  this  in  turn  merged 
into  a  dainty  shade  of  old  rose.  Finally  three- 
fourths  of  the  horizon  was  banded  with  salmon 
pink,  and  flecked  with  small  clouds  of  copper  hue. 
A  few  minutes  later  the  lower  sky  in  the  east 
became  rose  pink,  and  the  clouds  a  pale  olive  green, 
whilst  the  sun  passed  behind  a  bank  of  blackness. 
This  cloud  immediately  was  edged  with  liquid  gold, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  sun  blazed  out  beneath, 
giving  it  the  appearance  of  the  open  door  of  a 
fiery  furnace.  This  brouglit  about  an  entirely  new 
combination  of  colors.  A  film  of  golden  lace  float- 
ed over  the  western  sky  and  through  it  shone  the 
slender  horn  of  the  new  moon,  silver  bright,  whilst 
the  firmament  took  on  every  shade  of  mauve,  pale 
green,  blue  and  pink.  I  staid  on  the  bridge  until 
all  light  had  faded  save  that  of  the  baby  moon,  and 
watched  Altair  hang  out  his  blue-white  light  low 
in  the  northwest.  In  another  minute  the  angry 
eyes  of  Taurus  looked  down  upon  us.  Another 
moment  and  the  sky  was  a  blaze  of  glory,  with 
Orion  and   his   brilliant  host ;   his  belt  and   sword 


242  arDund  south  America  with  a  sample  case 

made  up  of  glittering  stars  and  mysterious  nebula. 
Then  out  of  a  cloud  bank  came  Sirius,  well  named 
the  ''Light  of  Heaven"  by  Egyptian  priests.  Pro- 
fessor Serviss  tells  us  "the  renown  of  Sirius  is  as 
ancient  as  the  human  race.  There  has  never  been 
a  time  or  a  people  in  which  or  by  whom  it  was 
not  worshipped,  reverenced  and  admired.  To  the 
builders  of  the  Egyptian  temples  and  pryamids  it 
was  an  object  as  familiar  as  the  sun  itself."  No 
doubt  the  builders  of  the  temple  in  Tihuanaca  fif- 
teen thousand  years  ago  began  some  festive  rite 
at  the  heliacal  rising  of  this  same  monarch  of  the 
sky.  But  he  has  a  close  rival  in  this  hemisphere, 
for  Canopus  sends  out  the  same  diamond  flashes 
and  both,  when  seen  through  a  good  glass,  are  al- 
most blinding. 

I  was  up  this  morning  at  5  o'clock,  and  can  un- 
derstand what  prompted  the  Psalmist  to  speak  of 
the  morning  stars  singing  together.  He  saw  the 
heavens  in  his  day  as  I  saw  them  this  morning. 
Orion  and  his  cavalcade  were  low  in  the  west,  but 
his  splendor  was  undimmed.  Canopus  had  gone  to 
bed,  but,  in  his  place,  shone  the  Southern  Cross, 
almost  upright  in  the  sky,  and  by  its  side,  as  if  to 
guard  it  from  harm,  were  the  great  suns  of  the 
Centuri.  High  in  the  north  the  Great  Bear  hung  in 
heavenly  beauty,  with  Arcturus  shedding  light, 
which  started  on  its  journey  to  earth  fifty  years 
ago.  Near  the  zenith  Spica  was  sending  his  flaw- 
less beams  of  pure  white  to  us  almost  as  long  a 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A   SAMPLE   CASE    243 

journey.  Banding  the  heavens  and  almost,  in  line 
were  our  sister  and  three  brothers ;  Venus  in  the 
east  as  morning  star,  with  Mars  and  Saturn  in 
their  order,  and  Jupiter  hurrying  down  the  west- 
ern slope  lest  the  sun  catch  him  and  blot  out  his 
glory.  Then  smaller  stars  began  to  steal  away  and 
were  lost  in  the  pearl  gray  of  the  coming  dawn. 
Soon  the  same  golden  rays  I  had  watched  fade 
from  the  waters  last  night  reached  out  to  me  from 
the  east.  "Then  God  smiled  and  it  was  morning; 
matchless  and  supreme."  As  late  as  9:30  this 
morning  I  was  able  to  bring  Venus  down  to  the 
horizon  with  the  sextant  and  note  the  distance  she 
had  climbed  since  I  saw  her  at  five  o'clock.  It  was 
a  wonderful  thing  to  see  her  doing  battle,  woman 
like,  to  hold  her  own  against  great  odds. 

We  crossed  the  twenty-fourth  meridian  north 
latitude  at  noon  Sunday,  and  felt  the  heat  more 
than  at  any  time  since  leaving  Rio,  which  very 
naturally  brought  on  a  disturbance.  Today  we 
are  bucking  a  head  sea,  with  wireless  reports  say- 
ing a  gale  is  on  its  way  to  meet  us.  This  indi- 
cates another  serious  delay,  for  we  are  making 
but  five  knots  per  hour.  New  Year's  eve  was  cele- 
brated by  distributing  prizes  to  the  winners  of 
games  that  have  been  pulled  ofif  during  the  past 
week,  and  then  a  progressive  bridge  party  was 
organized  to  pass  the  time  until  the  New  Year 
came  in.  When  eight  bells  struck  we  all  stood 
and  exchanged  greetings,  after  which  a  toast  was 


244   AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  AVITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE 

drank  to  the  ones  at  home.  The  sky  was  heavily 
overcast  all  of  New  Year's  day,  with  a  fitful  gale 
coming  out  from  Hatteras,  and  everyone  in  the 
dumps,  for  we  see  our  hopes  of  getting  in  Satur- 
day growing  beautifully  less.  But  the  ship  is  thor- 
oughly comfortable,  although  a  beam  sea  is  run- 
ning that  would  make  one  of  the  West  Coast  ships 
turn  turtle.  We  entered  the  gulf  stream  at  1 
o'clock  this  morning,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  witness- 
ed a  strange  phenomenon.  A  cold  northeast  wind 
was  sweeping  down  from  the  coast  of  Greenland, 
and  when  the  cold  air  hit  the  face  of  a  high  wave  it 
would  send  up  a  cloud  of  steam  until  it  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  fog  bank.  At  noon  the  sun  came 
out  and  then  we  looked  out  over  a  perfect  caul- 
dron. I  have  crossed  the  gulf  stream  countless 
times,  but  never  witnessed  this  phenomena  before. 
At  two  o'clock  this  morning  I  was  awakened  by 
a  warning  blast  from  the  ship's  whistle,  and  went 
on  deck  to  find  a  blizzard  whirling  about  us.  It 
did  not  last  long,  but  gave  me  a  foretaste  of  what 
is  going  on  in  New  York ;  and  Rio  will  seem  very 
alluring  about  next  Saturday. 

There  was  another  diversion  this  morning  that 
we  must  be  thankful  did  not  occur  during  the  bliz- 
zard, else  there  might  be  another  story  to  tell.  I 
came  on  deck  for  a  turn  before  breakfast,  and 
noticed  a  steamer  on  the  starboard  bow,  but  gave 
no  special  attention.  In  a  few  minutes  she  sud- 
denly changed  her  course,  and  if  our  bridge  officer 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE    245 

had  not  reversed  our  power  full-speed  she  would 
have  surely  hit  us.  The  whole  outfit  evidently 
had  gone  loco,  for  she  executed  another  wild 
maneuver  before  clearing  the  way  for  us  to  go  on 
our  course.  Our  "Old  Man"  was  on  the  bridge, 
and  the  signal  he  sent  across  the  water  by  whistle 
has  no  place  in  the  code,  but  had  he  used  a  mega- 
phone he  could  not  have  said,  "What  the  blankety, 
blank,  blank,  are  you  trying  to  do,  you  blooming 
lobster"  any  more  definitely.  The  offending  craft 
did  not  reply,  but  they  got  the  message  all  right. 
No  one  appeared  on  her  bridge,  and  Wilson  sug- 
gested the  possibility  of  them  losing  record  of 
time  and  celebrating  New  Year's  eve  last  night. 
At  least  something  was  wrong,  and  had  it  not  been 
clear  daylight,  and  our  ship  under  perfect  control, 
there  would  have  been  a  smash  that  might  have 
ended  in  the  "Great  Adventure"  for  some  of  us. 
The  delay  of  last  night  and  this  morning  blocks 
all  hope  of  reaching  New  York  before  tomorrow 
morning,  so  our  minds  are  at  rest  on  that  score. 
We  raised  Barnegat  light  at  7  o'clock  this  evening, 
and  home  seems  very  near.  It  has  been  a  long 
journey,  full  of  incident,  some  danger,  much  phys- 
ical discomfort  and  actual  suffering,  but  all  the 
distress  is  forgotten  in  the  memory  of  friends 
met ;  scenes  recorded  on  the  tablets  of  memory  for 
future  use,  and  a  knowledge  of  South  America  not 
to  be  gotten  in  any  other  way. 


246    AROUMD  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE 

A  WORD  OF  CAUTION. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  patient  reader  will  now  want  to  know  some- 
thing of  my  impressions  as  to  the  business  pros- 
pects in  South  America  and  what  our  chances  are 
to  get  and  hold  this  trade  when  European  coun- 
tries and  Japan  get  on  a  producing  basis  once  more. 
Competition  will  then  become  keen,  and  we  must 
prepare  to  meet  it  by  first  sending  men  into  this 
country  fitted  for  the  work.  A  knowledge  of  the 
language  is  essential,  but  it  is  far  more  important 
to  select  men  temperamentally  adapted  to  these 
people.  They  resent  many  of  our  natural  traits, 
and  these  should  have  the  soft  pedal  down  there. 
As  a  rule  the  South  American  is  low-voiced  and 
his  conversation  in  dining  rooms  and  public  places 
is  not  pitched  crescendo.  Neither  does  he  speak  of 
his  best  friend  as  a  liar  or  boob  or  worse  in  ordi- 
nary conversation.  Not  that  he  cannot  swear 
when  the  occasion  demands  it.  Let  there  be  an 
ofifense,  real  or  fancied,  and  the  Spaniard  or  Portu- 
gese will  cause  milk  to  curdle  in  the  adjoining 
covmty,  but  swearing  is  not  adapted  to  friendly 
discourse  and  polite  society  as  it  is  with  us.  An 
incident  in  the  dining  room  of  one  of  the  hotels 
in    Lima    illustrates    what    I    mean.      A    salesman 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE    247 

representing  one  of  our  large  business  houses, 
came  in  with  two  companions  and  occupied  the 
table  adjoining  mine.  After  giving  his  order  for 
a  whiskey  and  soda  he  turned  to  his  companion 
and  said,  "Did  you  ever  get  mixed  up  with  such  a 
bunch  of  damn  liars  in  your  life  as  they  are  in 
this  burg?"  He  then  elaborated  his  opinion  of 
South  Americans  in  general  and  the  people  of  that 
town  in  particular,  and  all  this  delectable  tirade 
was  given  in  a  tone  loud  enough  to  be  heard  and 
understood  by  forty  or  fifty  people  in  the  dining 
room.  Incalculable  harm  was  done  American  in- 
terests, for  we  may  rest  assured  nothing  was  lost 
in  the  retelling  of  this  incident.  This  would  be 
specially  true  if  the  story  was  retold  by  some  rep- 
resentative frcm  Europe  or  Japan  when  discuss- 
ing us  as  competitors. 

Now  this  unfortunate  thing  was  not  the  result 
of  any  real  feeling  toward  the  people  of  that  town, 
neither  did  it  actually  extend  to  the  individual 
whom  he  specially  referred  to,  but  he  had  per- 
haps lost  a  wad  in  a  poker  game  the  night  before, 
and  no  doubt  his  prospective  customer  had  drop- 
ped some  coin  in  the  same  game  and  had  failed  to 
keep  promised  engagement ,  or  have  the  order 
ready.  Our  friend  turned  loose  a  line  of  talk  so 
common  with  us  that  it  makes  no  impression,  and 
half  the  time  is  not  even  heard ;  but  people  in 
South  America  note  every  act  and  expression  of 
our  people  when  we  are  amongst  them,  and  it  be- 


248    AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A   SAMPLE  CASE 

hooves  us  to  speak  and  act  circumspectly.  When 
a  citizen  of  Lima  calls  our  attention  to  their  beau- 
tiful cathedral,  it  is  not  good  taste  to  look  at  it 
with  lack-lustre  eyes  and  say,  "Oh  yes,  but  you 
should  see  St.  John  the  Divine  on  Morningside 
Heights."  Neither  does  it  get  us  anywhere  in 
their  good  graces  when  we  loudly  condemn  their 
'hotels,  railroads  and  steamship  lines.  Of  course, 
we  claim  constructive  criticism ;  but  it  is  doubtful 
if  anything  is  accomplished  by  this,  except  a  with- 
drawal of  their  favor.  These  people  know  full 
well  they  do  not  have  a  Woolworth  Building  or 
an  Edgar  Thompson  Steel  Works.  They  do  not 
have  to  be  told  our  nation  overshadows  them  in 
art,  science  and  industry.  They  know  it,  and  our 
boastful  comparisons  are  more  than  odious.  The 
Englishman,  German  and  Japanese  have  learned 
this  lesson,  and  when  their  attention  is  called  to 
an  opera  house,  art  gallery  or  race  track  they  pro- 
ceed to  register  admiration  both  in  words  and 
facial  expression,  and  the  friendly  compact  is  seal- 
ed right  there. 

Our"  style  of  "You  call  me  Bill"  after  the  second 
meeting  is  another  thing  resented,  and  even  in  the 
Rotary  Club  where  good-fellowship  is  carried  to 
the  Nth  degree,  it  is  Don  Juany,  Don  Pedro,  but 
never  Jack  or  Pete  as  it  would  be  in  one  of  our 
clubs.  Now  if  Rotary  cannot  break  down  this  in- 
herent reserve,  it  is  extremely  dangerous  to  make 
the  attempt  with  a  prospective  customer.     One  of 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE    249 

the  really  diftjcult  things  for  us  to  adjust  ourselves 
to  is  the  "Manana,"  and  more  often  "Manana  por 
la  manana,"  and  this  frets  us  because  we  are  ac- 
customed to  do  business  swiftly,  and  cannot  un- 
derstand why  they  should  wait  until  tomorrow  or 
the  day  after.  But  it  is  their  way  of  doing  busi- 
ness, and  we  must  not  lose  patience  and  call 
them  boobs  and  other  American  pet  names. 

The  business  situation  was  very  much  muddled 
on  the  west  cOast  when  I  was  there,  and  much  bit- 
ter feeling  seemed  inevitable  because  of  the  vast 
amount  of  merchandise  piled  in  the  several  ports 
that  had  been  refused  by  the  consignee.  This 
was  brought  about  by  duplication  of  orders  dur- 
ing the  war,  in  hopes  that  at  least  one  consign- 
ment would  get  through.  When  the  armis- 
tice was  signed  all  back  orders  were  shipped,  and 
Mollendo  had  enough  merchandise  of  various  lines 
consigned  to  Bolivia  to  last  that  country  five  years, 
and  someone  is  sure  to  be  badly  stung  before  the 
matter  is  straightened  out.  Another  trouble- 
some thing  for  our  shippers  is  the  matter  of  ex- 
change, and  conditions  are  specially  distressing  in 
Chili,  but  surely  this  evil  w^ill  soon  be  corrected, 
for  it  is  a  serious  drawback  to  the  prosperity  of 
that  country.  A  few  bankers  coin  money  through 
the  scheme,  but  "Jones  pays  the  freight."  Cur- 
rency in  Peru,  Argentine  and  Uraguay  is  absolute- 
ly staple,  and  it  was  fairly  so  in  Brazil,  but  ex- 
change   ran    wild    during    my    stay    in    Rio ;    the 


250   AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE 

American  dollar  ranging  down  from  3$900  to 
3$200  in  ten  days.  This  bit  of  high  finance  cost  me 
over  $100.00,  and  if  it  fretted  me,  which  it  did,  how 
about  the  chap  or  the  business  concern  who  stood 
a  loss  of  thousands?  Many  protests  are  sounded 
regarding  our  careless  packing,  and  with  good  rea- 
son. One  merchant  in  Sao  Paulo  told  me  of  an 
order  sent  to  the  States  for  ten  reels  of  barbed 
wire.  He  specifically  stated  that  each  reel  should 
contain  one  length,  but  when  his  customer  un- 
wound them,  one  contained  six  pieces  and  one 
twenty  pieces.  Three  pieces  to  the  reel  was  the 
nearest  to  the  specification.  This  man  was  mad 
all  through.  Another  merchant  in  Rio  ordered 
several  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  white  silk  and 
satin  dress  goods.  He  went  into  minute  details  as 
to  how  the  bolts  should  1)e  wrapped  and  packed, 
but  instead  of  coming  through  in  water-proof  pa- 
per covering,  and  in  heavy  packing  cases  they 
were  shipped  with  fancy  paper  wrapping  inflimsy 
cases.  One  of  the  downpours  of  rain  so  frequent 
in  Rio  came  on  when  this  merchandise  was  being 
hoisted  into  the  lighter,  and  the  merchant  got  a 
lot  of  material  well  suited  for  a  circus  clown's 
outfit,  but  not  just  right  for  wedding  dresses,  and 
he  was  peevish.  There  is  one  more  case  worth 
citing.  A  contractor  in  Buenos  Aires  was  build- 
ing a  plant  up  on  the  ''Roof"  above  Mendosa,  for 
which  he  required  certain  electric  equipment.  The 
standard  machine   weighed  eight  hundred  pounds. 


AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A   SAMPLE   CASE    251 

SO  he  had  his  engineer  re-design  it  so  that  no  part 
would  weigh  over  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds. 
The  specification  and  reason  for  this  specification 
was  made  in  red  ink,  explaining  that  parts  must 
be  transported  up  the  mountain  on  llamas  and  as- 
sembled at  the  plant,  and  these  beasts  could  not 
negotiate  any  heavier  burden.  The  new  design 
had  been  faithfully  followed,  but  they  were  dumped 
on  the  dock  intact.  Every  bolt  and  rivet  tight  and 
fast,  and  I  am  told  the  customs  house  looked  up 
the  tariff  on  sulphur  when  the  contractor  got  well 
started  on  his  remarks.  It  is  to  be  hoped  these 
incidents  will  tend  to  caution  our  business  men  and 
help  them  avoid  such  errors  as  noted.  Let  them 
keep  in  mind  that  a  shipment  of  silk  from  New 
York  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  not  so  easily  adjusted 
if  something  goes  wrong,  as  it  would  be  if  con- 
signed to  Hoboken.  When  the  merchant  or  dealer 
runs  the  gamut  of  a  South  American  customs 
house  and  gets  his  goods  in  w^arehouse  only  to  find 
them  damaged  or  unsalable,  he  is  going  to  close 
that  account  at  once,  and  mark  it  up  in  the  column 
of  losses,  for  he  would  never  succeed  in  getting 
an  adjustment.  To  our  way  of  thinking  the  South 
Americans  were  very  much  pampered  prior  to  the 
war.  Every  minute  whim  was  accepted  as  an  obli- 
gation by  the  European  manufacturer  or  jobber, 
and  if  this  whim  had  not  already  been  made  stand- 
ard a  courteous  letter  went  forward  saying,  "We 
do  not  have  this  particular  style  in  stock  but  will 


252    AROUND  SOUTH  AMERICA  WITH  A  SAMPLE  CASE 

make  it  up  at  once,  and  ship  in  the  near  future." 
But  from  us  they  would  get  the  next  best  thing, 
followed  by  a  letter  of  astonishment  if  they  made 
a  protest.  However,  our  consular  agents,  Ameri- 
can chambers  of  commerce  and  the  banking  or- 
ganizations recently  established  are  doing  fine 
work  in  holding  our  manufacturers  up  to  stand- 
ard, and  they  speak  as  one  having  authority.  An- 
other powerful  factor  for  good  clean  business  re- 
lations is  the  prospective  establishment  of  Rotary 
clubs  in  every  business  center  of  importance.  Clubs 
have  been  organized  in  Montevideo  and  Buenos 
Aires,  with  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Pernambuco,  Sao 
Paulo  and  Santiago  de  Chili  as  live  possibilties. 
When  this  is  done  and  we  carry  the  banner  of 
"service,  not  self"  to  these  people,  and  prove  by 
our  business  methods  that  we  are  sincere  in  our 
profession  there  will  be  created  a  new  and  happy 
era  for  "The  Americas." 

FINIS. 


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